Ultraprocessed food in mother's diet associated with child's risk for obesity, overweight

Ultraprocessed food intake among mothers was associated with an increased risk for overweight and obesity among their children, according to researchers.

“Our study highlights the potential benefits of limiting ultraprocessed food consumption among mothers and women of reproductive age to reduce the risk of overweight in their children,” they wrote. “However, we should not overlook social determinants of health that could impede women from reducing ultra-processed food intake.”

Ultraprocessed foods — like packaged snacks, soft drinks, ready-to-heat products and candy — have previously been linked to poor cardiovascular fitness in children, but the connection between a mother’s diet and children’s outcomes has previously been unclear.

In a bid to close the knowledge gap, Yiqing Wang, PhD, a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues analyzed two sets of data: one to assess the effect during pregnancy and one that followed the children after they were born.

In the peripregnancy analysis, Wang and colleagues evaluated data from 2,790 mothers and 2,925 children. They found that ultraprocessed food intake during pregnancy was not significantly linked to an increased risk for overweight and obesity in children.

In a separate analysis assessing outcomes after birth, the researchers used data from the Nurses’ Health Study II — an ongoing study that tracks the lifestyle and health of more than 100,000 female nurses aged 25 to 42 years at baseline — and the Growing Up Today Study, which includes more than 16,800 children aged 8 to 15 years at baseline.

The researchers accounted for other factors that could influence the findings, like mothers’ BMI, smoking status, physical activity, children’s ultraprocessed food consumption, sedentary time and physical activity.

During an average follow-up period of 4 years, Wang and colleagues found that 12% of children — 2,471 — developed obesity or overweight, and that a mother’s ultraprocessed food consumption was linked to an increased risk for obesity or overweight in her children. The group with the lowest maternal consumption (3.4 servings per day) saw a 26% lower risk (relative risk = 1.26, 95% CI, 1.08-1.47) than the group with the highest maternal ultraprocessed food consumption (12.1 servings per day).

“As maternal ultraprocessed food consumption increased, maternal intake of carbohydrates, trans fatty acids, and sodium increased, while maternal intake of protein and overall diet quality assessed by the Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010 decreased,” the researchers wrote.

Wang and colleagues also noted that, “similarly, as maternal ultraprocessed food consumption increased,” their children’s overall diet quality decreased and consumption of ultraprocessed foods increased (P < .001).

Notably, the researchers found that ultraprocessed breakfast foods and breads “were independently associated with childhood risk of overweight or obesity” (RR per one standard deviation increase = 1.1, 95% CI, 1.06-1.15).

The researchers wrote that there is no clear mechanism behind the association and that future studies are necessary to confirm the findings and understand the factors at play.

Until then, however, they wrote that mothers could benefit from limiting ultraprocessed food intake. To improve nutrition for women and help reduce childhood obesity, they also wrote that financial and social barriers must be removed, and dietary guidelines should be refined.

“Addressing ... financial and social structural barriers to making healthy food choices is critical for developing achievable and responsible dietary guidelines for women of childbearing age,” Wang and colleagues wrote.

References:

• Mother’s ultra-processed food intake linked to obesity risk in children. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/966797. Published Oct. 5, 2022. Accessed Oct. 5, 2022.
• Wang Y, et al. BMJ. 2022;doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-071767.