UK Wedding News
10/10/2013
The study, which was carried out by researchers from King's College London and Canada and published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry, discovered a link between unhealthy eating in pregnancy and depression which can affect a children's IQ scores at the age of eight.
They explained that a poor diet during pregnancy has a direct impact on the developing brain of a baby.
However, they added that there is a 'window of opportunity' to prevent longer-term problems being triggered by poor nutrition.
The study looked at 6,979 women and their children who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the UK (the 'Children of the 90s' study).
The women were assessed for symptoms of depression five times between when they were 18-weeks pregnancy and when their child was 33 months old. They were also asked to complete a food questionnaire to assess their eating habits when they were 32 weeks pregnant, and again when their child was 47 months old.
Then, by using tests of performance IQ and verbal IQ, the children's cognitive function was assessed when they were eight years old.
The findings revealed that women who had symptoms of depression were more likely to eat an unhealthy diet, with these factors linked to their eight-year-olds having less good brain power than those whose mothers ate more healthily. For women who were depressed, yet classified as eating healthy foods, were found to be more at risk of their offspring having worse IQ scores if they are a "lower" healthy diet.
A number of factors were taken into account when affecting the rate of depression, including teenage mother, low maternal education, substance use and criminal lifestyle.
The study, led by Dr Edward Barker of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, said: "Our study provides evidence that prenatal maternal depression symptoms relate to both increased unhealthy and decreased healthy prenatal diets which, in turn, is associated with reduced child cognitive function.
"During pregnancy, the diet of the mother directly influences the nutritional environment of the foetus, which presumably will affect the development of the foetal nervous system including the brain."
The researchers also stated that the research does not show that prenatal depression causes damage to children's cognitive functioning, it is only a correlation. They added that depression is a sign of stress that could be affecting brain development, partly because it affects the way the body processes certain beneficial vitamins.
(JP/CD)
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Mothers-To-Be Who Eat Junk Food 'Could Lower Baby's IQ'
New research has suggested that expectant mothers who are depressed and often turn to junk food for comfort, could be damaging their child's brain power.The study, which was carried out by researchers from King's College London and Canada and published online by the British Journal of Psychiatry, discovered a link between unhealthy eating in pregnancy and depression which can affect a children's IQ scores at the age of eight.
They explained that a poor diet during pregnancy has a direct impact on the developing brain of a baby.
However, they added that there is a 'window of opportunity' to prevent longer-term problems being triggered by poor nutrition.
The study looked at 6,979 women and their children who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the UK (the 'Children of the 90s' study).
The women were assessed for symptoms of depression five times between when they were 18-weeks pregnancy and when their child was 33 months old. They were also asked to complete a food questionnaire to assess their eating habits when they were 32 weeks pregnant, and again when their child was 47 months old.
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Then, by using tests of performance IQ and verbal IQ, the children's cognitive function was assessed when they were eight years old.
The findings revealed that women who had symptoms of depression were more likely to eat an unhealthy diet, with these factors linked to their eight-year-olds having less good brain power than those whose mothers ate more healthily. For women who were depressed, yet classified as eating healthy foods, were found to be more at risk of their offspring having worse IQ scores if they are a "lower" healthy diet.
A number of factors were taken into account when affecting the rate of depression, including teenage mother, low maternal education, substance use and criminal lifestyle.
The study, led by Dr Edward Barker of the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, said: "Our study provides evidence that prenatal maternal depression symptoms relate to both increased unhealthy and decreased healthy prenatal diets which, in turn, is associated with reduced child cognitive function.
"During pregnancy, the diet of the mother directly influences the nutritional environment of the foetus, which presumably will affect the development of the foetal nervous system including the brain."
The researchers also stated that the research does not show that prenatal depression causes damage to children's cognitive functioning, it is only a correlation. They added that depression is a sign of stress that could be affecting brain development, partly because it affects the way the body processes certain beneficial vitamins.
(JP/CD)
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