Just published in Pediatrics, a study whose objective is "Examine the association between drinking sugary drinks during pregnancy and fat accumulation in children". In a prospective prepartum cohort study, data were collected on 1078 mother-child pairs. The main conclusion is that a higher intake of sugary drinks (soft drinks, juices with added sugar, etc.) during the second trimester of pregnancy, corresponds to more adiposity. The study took into account children with a mean age of 7,7 years.
The theory is explored that the mother's diet during pregnancy can result in obese daughters and sons. And the sugar (content in high amounts in some drinks) is a dietary factor to take into account. Adiposity has been measured by body mass index (BMI), skin fold thickness, and absorptiometry. Nutrition experts, doctors and public health officials are clear that the global pandemic of childhood obesity, it can only be approached from infancy, a plastic stage of human development.
During the first years of life it is very important that the little ones have a balanced lifestyle: less calories, more exercise ... On the other hand, in humans it has traditionally been more difficult to demonstrate associations between mothers' diet and overweight in their children, but all prevention strategies include avoiding or reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, because they can also be related to the diabetes type 2 and metabolic syndrome.
Today, the pregnancy period is already taken into account as a determining factor in the prevention of all non-communicable diseases. Encouraging results have been seen in the United States, and efforts are worth continuing. It is worse in low- and middle-income countries, where this intake increases, and with it obesity rates also increase.