Strollerderby

They Say: Fat-Eating Pregos Make for Fat-Loving Kids

Posted by JeanneSager

Tired of hearing your mom comment on the size of your butt? Tell her it's her fault. A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience says women who indulge in fat-laden foods during pregnancy are setting the stage for parenting a child who will constantly struggle with his or her weight. 

Researchers say the developing fetus' brain is essentially being hard-wired to crave fatty foods as their moms eat for two . . . or four. The study was performed on rats rather than humans, but it makes good sense. What are kids eating when they're inside us? Exactly what we're eating. So wouldn't it make sense that they'd develop a taste for those foods?

My father used to joke that he considered leaving my mother if she served one more plate of spinach during her pregnancy (she had to get that iron somehow), and wouldn't you know it - one of my favorite foods is a nice big chunk of spinach pie oozing with feta and wrapped in delicate phyllo dough.

Although my propensity to pop M&Ms would point to plenty of desserts served after those spinach-rich dinners . . . 

Image: Raising Kids

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Comments

 

tree shrew said:

Well, my kids are screwed.

November 17, 2008 4:16 PM
 

coolteamblt said:

I don't know, my MIL ate lots of fruits while pregnant, especially mangoes, and my husband won't touch any fruit except for blueberries. Of course, that's the one fruit my MIL is allergic to!

My mother keeps joking I'm going to give birth to a cow because I've been craving serious red meat. Steak, burgers, tacos, whatever. It doesn't matter as long as a cow died to make it happen.

November 17, 2008 5:09 PM
 

Knitty said:

Because, ladies, everything -- and I do mean EVERYTHING -- can be blamed on mom.

November 17, 2008 6:14 PM
 

Lisa said:

"According to several animal studies, conditions during pregnancy, including the mother’s diet, may determine how fat the offspring are as adults. Human studies have shown that women who eat little in pregnancy, surprisingly, more often have children who grow into fat adults. More than a dozen studies have found that children are more likely to be fat if their mothers smoke during pregnancy."

health.nytimes.com/.../esn-obesity-ess.html

November 17, 2008 10:15 PM

About JeanneSager

Jeanne Sager is a writer who lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, a dog and too many cats. She refuses to believe motherhood comes with pumpkin appliqued sweaters, and she';s not ready to apologize for having only one child. She writes about raising her kid in her own hometown and the mom stuff she's not embarrassed to own at her blog, Inside Out (http://jeannesager.blogspot.com), she's contributing editor of Grand Magazine, and she's a regular essayist here on Babble

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