Pregnant Women with Unhealthy Eating Habits Program Children to Eat Junk Food: Study

A latest study has found that women who eat junk food during pregnancy actually program their children to eat fast food.

The study, led by Dr Bev Muhlhausler, a postdoctoral fellow in the university's FOODplus Research Centre, is said to be the first to observe the effect of mother's unhealthy eating habits during pregnancy on her child.

Research conducted by the University of Adelaide found that higher consumption of fatty or sugary foods during pregnancy and lactation desensitizes the body's normal reward system.

According to Mühlhäusler and her colleagues, opioids, which are produced by the body as a reward in response to things such as fat and sugar, stimulate the production of the hormone dopamine. Dopamine, in turn, helps boost good feelings in a person.

The researchers found that mothers who often ate junk food during pregnancy gave birth to babies with less sensitive opioid signaling pathways. This resulted in the child consuming more sugar and fatty foods.

 "In the same way that someone addicted to opioid drugs has to consume more of the drug over time to achieve the same 'high', continually producing excess opioids by eating too much junk food results in the need to consume more foods full of fat and sugar to get the same pleasurable sensation," Dr Mühlhäusler said in a statement. "Mothers eating a lot of junk food while pregnant are setting up their children to be addicted."

This makes it difficult for the children to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle, the researchers said. The researchers explained that it is necessary to understand the impact of the eating habits of pregnant women on their children. "The take-home message for women is that eating large amounts of junk food during pregnancy and while breastfeeding will have long-term consequences for their child's preference for these foods, which will ultimately have negative effects on their health," she added.