A healthy diet during pregnancy ensures the baby gets the best start possible. It provides the baby and pregnant women with proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals.
A recent study shows that a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy is linked to ADHD symptoms in children. Furthermore, ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is a chronic condition including attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.
Thus, this may cause problems early in life. This recent study was done by scientists at King’s College London in collaboration with the University of Bristol.
The study indicates epigenetic changes evident at birth. This may explain the link between unhealthy diet, conduct problems, and ADHD. ADHD causes children mental problems. This disorder tends to arise in tandem. It can also be traced back to very similar fetal experiences like maternal distress or poor nutrition.
This new study was conducted on Bristol-based Children of the 90s cohort and 83 children with early-onset problems. After that, they were compared with 81 children with low conduct problems.
Through this, scientists determine how the mothers’ nutrition affected Epigenetic changes or DNA Methylation of IGF2. IGF2 is a gene involved in fetal development and the brain development of areas involved in ADHD- the cerebellum and Hippocampus. Although DNA IGF2 Methylation was previously found in children of mothers who were unveiled to famine in the Netherlands during World War II.
Researchers found poor fetal nutrition, consisting of high-fat and sugar diets of processed food and confectionery, combined with higher IGF2 Methylation in children with early-onset conduct problems and those with low conduct problems.
Higher IGF2 Methylation also combined higher ADHD symptoms between the ages of 7 and 13. But, only for children who showed an early onset of conduct problems.
Dr. Edward Barker from King’s College London said, “Our finding shows that poor fetal nutrition combines higher IGF2 Methylation highlights the critical importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy. The results suggest that promoting a healthy prenatal diet may ultimately lower ADHD symptoms and conduct problems in children. This is encouraging given that nutritional and Epigenetic risk factors can be altered.”
“Now we need to analyze more specific types of nutrition. For example, the types of fats such as omega 3 fatty acids, from fish, walnuts, and chicken are extremely important for neural development. We already know that nutritional supplements for children can cause lower ADHD and conduct problems. So it will be important for future research to examine the role of Epigenetic changes in this process,” he added.
