Overeaters 'programmed'
2007-08-15 10:37
London - Children whose mothers eat junk
food during pregnancy and breastfeeding are more likely to
overeat, choose an unhealthy diet and grow obese later in life,
according to research using rats published on Wednesday.
Previous studies have shown that children born to obese
mothers are likely to be overweight, but the new findings are
some of the first to look at what behaviours may be triggering
unhealthy eating habits, the researchers said.
"It indicates there is a foetal programming for overeating,"
said Neil Stickland, a researcher at the Royal Veterinary
College in London who worked on the study.
"The foetuses are getting used to this junk food during
gestation," he added in a telephone interview.
"It is not just genetics," he said. "We can show a direct
link to what the mothers eat and how it affects the children."
In the study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition,
researchers took two group of pregnant rats and gave one a diet
of junk food such as doughnuts, muffins and sweets and fed the
other nutritional pellets.
Surprisingly, Stickland said, there was no effect on birth
weight. But when the young rats were weaned the team found that
the animals whose mothers ate junk food put on weight more
quickly, had a taste for unhealthy food and gorged, he added.
Studying rats has implications for humans because the
mechanisms controlling appetite are similar in many species,
Stickland said.
Obesity is a major issue worldwide and raises the risk of
diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart problems. The World
Health Organisation classifies around 400 million people as
obese, including 20 million children under the age of five.
The study also attempts to better understand what drives
appetite, a process controlled by brain centres that respond to
signals telling us when we are hungry and when we are full.
The research indicated that the young rats may be
overindulging because as they eat more, the "pleasure centres"
in the brain stimulated by sugary foods need increased amounts
of food to reach the same level of satisfaction.
"Exposure to a maternal junk food diet during their foetal
and suckling life might help explain why some individuals might
find it harder than others to control their junk food intake
even when given access to healthier foods later in life,"
Stephanie Bayol, a researcher at the Royal Veterinary College
who led the study, said in a statement.