There is no significant link between a mother’s diet during pregnancy and a child’s health – at least when it comes to third-world diet supplement programs, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine looked at the health records of about 1,300 children from Gambia, Africa. About half the children – aged 11 to 17 at the time of follow-up – had participated in a trial where their mothers had been given 1,000 extra calories a day during pregnancy, starting in the 20th week.
The researchers found no real differences between the children who were born to the better-fed mothers, and the control group. Body mass index (a measure of body fat), cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and insulin levels were all similar across the two groups, suggesting the supplemented diets didn’t have the expected long-term benefit.
A separate trial also found no link between calcium supplements during pregnancy and blood pressure levels in children between the ages of five and ten.
Other experts warn, however, that people should be careful applying these findings to first world countries where the situation is much different. They also suggest effects of the diet might become more apparent once the children grow into adulthood.