Western diet elevates levels of insulin, leptin and adiponectin hormones starting at birth and may serve as an early biomarker for detecting obesity risk.
- Diet composition around the time of pregnancy may influence whether offspring can become obese.
- A typical American, or Western diet appears to increase the risk of lifelong obesity.
- The Western diet sets in motion a metabolic program that lasts throughout the life in mice. The type of food you eat during pregnancy may influence the risk of obesity in offspring and this can have a lifelong risk of obesity in mice according to a new study using animal models at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). Giving females a typical American, or Western, diet appeared to set the next generation up for lifelong obesity issues.
- Jennifer B. Frihauf et al. Maternal Western diet increases adiposity even in male offspring of obesity-resistant rat dams: early endocrine risk markersAmerican Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology ,Vol. 311 no. 6, R1045-R1059 (2016),DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00023.2016.
Pregnancy and Diet/Diet during Pregnancy – Healthy Foods, Foods to Avoid
Pregnant women should pay special attention to their diet. The diet before and during pregnancy should be rich in calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Pregnant women should pay special attention to their diet. The diet before and during pregnancy should be rich in calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
‘Overweight mothers were more likely to have overweight offspring but the new findings suggest that diet alone can make a difference independent of weight gain.’
"Your diet itself matters, not just whether you are gaining excess weight or developing gestational diabetes," said TSRI Associate Professor Eric Zorrilla, who led the study in collaboration with Tim R. Nagy of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Barry E. Levin of the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center of East Orange, New Jersey, and Rutgers University. The researchers made this discovery by studying two lines of rats, one selectively bred to be obesity-resistant to a high-fat diet and one bred to be unusually vulnerable. Rats from each group were fed either a diet with the same overall fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate and protein levels as a typical Western diet, or a lower-fat, higher-grain control diet.
The scientists found that female rats given a Western diet in the weeks leading up to pregnancy, during pregnancy and during nursing had offspring more prone to obesity at birth, during early adolescence and--many months later--through adulthood. This occurred even if the mothers themselves did not overeat and maintained a healthy weight, body fat and insulin status.
Carbohydrates and Its Role in Obesity
Over 1 billion people world-wide are obese thus affecting their health due to their nutrition and lifestyle. 3.9% of India’s population is obese! Know more about obesity and its prevention.
Over 1 billion people world-wide are obese thus affecting their health due to their nutrition and lifestyle. 3.9% of India’s population is obese! Know more about obesity and its prevention.
The Western diet seemed to set in motion a metabolic "program" that lasted throughout the rat's life. Although these rats slimmed down during puberty and early adulthood, they still showed a lower basal metabolic rate (less energy expended at while rest) and higher food intake during that time, which led to a return of obesity in mid-adulthood.
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Healthy Weight Gain during Pregnancy
Recommended weight gain during pregnancy is determined as per pre-pregnancy weight and BMI. Healthy weight gain is very important for pregnancy health and is achieved with the right diet and exercise.
Recommended weight gain during pregnancy is determined as per pre-pregnancy weight and BMI. Healthy weight gain is very important for pregnancy health and is achieved with the right diet and exercise.
Research is ongoing into which aspects of a Western diet trigger these effects--and the molecular changes in the offspring responsible for them. Zorrilla said the findings should raise awareness of the importance of a healthy pre- and post-natal diet. For example, doctors may want to discuss nutrition with all women who are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, not just those already overweight.
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Is a Vegetarian Diet Safe During Pregnancy?
Great care must be taken with diet during pregnancy for the baby’s healthy development. Being vegetarian is not a minus but dietary recommendations must be followed closely for a healthy pregnancy.
Great care must be taken with diet during pregnancy for the baby’s healthy development. Being vegetarian is not a minus but dietary recommendations must be followed closely for a healthy pregnancy.
The researchers also spotted an interesting difference in the effects of the Western diet between the obesity-vulnerable and obesity-resistant lines: in females, the diet impaired the reproduction of the obesity vulnerable lines. Significantly fewer of females were able to reproduce, and those that did reproduce had fewer offspring.
"This wasn't the focus of the study, but it supports the idea that a Western diet promotes infertility in mothers vulnerable to diet-induced obesity," said Zorrilla.
Frihauf added that few pregnant women, even in the United States, eat a high-fat, high-sugar diet all day, every day. "We're not trying to tell pregnant women not to occasionally splurge on a piece of cake," she said.
Zorrilla concluded that paternal diet, through epigenetic mechanisms that control how genes are expressed, can affect obesity risk in offspring, so nutritional information may be valuable for potential fathers as well.
Reference
Source-Medindia
