by In an effort to combat the rising rates of childhood obesity, scientists conducted a study involving 500 mothers to investigate whether an enriched nutritional supplement would have an impact on a child’s weight in their early years.
The study revealed that children of mothers who took the supplement before giving birth were half as likely to be obese by the age of 2. The supplement consisted of vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, probiotics, and myoinositol.
The research was conducted as part of the international NiPPeR study, which involved scientists from the University of Southampton, the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland, the National University of Singapore, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore.
Professor Keith Godfrey, the chief investigator from the University of Southampton and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Center, emphasized the importance of preventing obesity as treating it is more challenging. He stated that supporting better nutritional status in mothers before and during pregnancy can have lasting benefits for their children.
The study, published in BMC Medicine, involved randomly assigning the 500 women to two groups. One group received the enriched supplement, while the other group took a standard pregnancy supplement alone.
When the researchers followed up with the children at age 2, they found that the cohort whose mothers were in the enriched group had half the number of obese children compared to the other group—9% versus 18%. Additionally, these children were 25% less likely to experience rapid weight gain after birth.
Professor Wayne Cutfield, a leader of the research from the Liggins Institute in Auckland, emphasized that supplementing mothers before and during pregnancy can have long-term benefits not only for the children but also for the women involved. The team plans to continue studying the children between 6 and 8 years of age.
Associate Professor Shiao Yng Chan, a paper co-author from the National University of Singapore, explained that the effects of a mother’s nutrition during pregnancy may not be immediately apparent in the baby. However, as the child grows, the impacts of the events that occurred in the womb become apparent. These early events, known as fetal programming, can influence how the child responds to an unhealthy lifestyle, making them more susceptible to becoming overweight.
Overall, these findings highlight the potential role of nutrition before and during pregnancy in reducing the risk of childhood obesity. They suggest that supporting mothers’ nutritional status during this crucial period can have long-lasting effects on their child’s weight and health. The researchers will continue their study to further investigate the impact of maternal nutrition on children between 6 and 8 years of age.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
