Researchers from Southampton demonstrated that women who during pregnancy used many polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-6), grow more full-grown children.
Recall that the main sources of such PUFAs are vegetable oils and nuts.
In a study conducted at the University of Southampton, scientists evaluated the fat tissue and muscle mass of 293 children aged 4 to 6 years, whose mothers took part in a large-scale survey of Southampton women (SWS).
Their estimates were compared with the concentrations of PUFA in the blood of mothers that were measured during pregnancy. The results, which were published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, confirmed that the fuller children were those women who consumed a lot of PUFA during pregnancy. It was about the fatty, but not muscle mass of children.
Dr. Nicholas Harvey, a senior lecturer at a department of the University of Southampton, led the study, along with Dr. Rebecca Moon. They comment on their results as follows: "Obesity is a growing problem in our country. But so far, few studies have been conducted that examined the relationship between the fat content in the pregnant woman's blood and the body weight of her children. The new results show that simple changes in the mother's diet, aimed at limiting PUFA, can positively affect the body weight of the child ".
The results of this work also showed a slight dependence between the level of one type of PUFA in the mother's blood and the muscle mass of the baby. We are talking about omega-3 fatty acids, which we get mainly from fish (fish oil). It was found that a high level of omega-3 acids in the mother is associated with a greater muscle and bone mass in the offspring.
This allows you to offer a more useful eating strategy for pregnant women. Dr. Moon says: "Apparently, conventional PUFAs (n-6) and omega-3 acids (n-3) act on fat metabolism in opposite directions.
In previous studies, we have already tried to use n-3 acids to reduce body weight, but success was achieved only when simultaneously reducing the content of n-6 in the diet ".
Professor of Rheumatology Cyrus Cooper states that the study is only one part of the research program at the University of Southampton that is aimed at finding and understanding the factors of diet and lifestyle that affect the development of offspring. This work, according to the professor, will help improve the health and quality of life of future generations.
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