PORTLAND, Ore. — New research in mice indicates that babies born to moms who eat a high-fat diet before and during pregnancy have a higher fat mass and smaller livers than babies whose moms consume low-fat fare, according to scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.
The good news, the researchers report, is that moms who switch to a low-fat diet during pregnancy considerably reduce the risk of these negative effects. Their findings are published online in the American Journal of Physiology and Endocrinology Metabolism, a publication of the American Physiological Society.
Previous research has shown babies who receive too much or too little nutrition in the womb experience profound and permanent changes in their development — including alterations in the structure of the liver, brain and pancreas — that increase their susceptibility to developing various diseases later in life, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease…
Comments are closed.