Mother's junk food diet 'can damage child's health'

PREGNANT or breastfeeding mothers who live on a diet of junk food could be condemning their children to lifelong obesity and ill-health, experts warned yesterday.

A new study suggests a mother's poor diet can do irreversible damage to her child. The effects include obesity, raised levels of cholesterol and the risk of diabetes.

Although the research was conducted on rats, scientists said the findings were also likely to apply to humans.

The results fit in with observed patterns of children's weight reflecting that of their parents.

Dr Stephanie Bayol, one of the scientists from the Royal Veterinary College, London, said: "It seems a mother's diet whilst pregnant and breastfeeding is very important for the long-term health of her child.

"We always say, you are what you eat. It may also be true that you are what your mother ate.

"It is important that we take care of ourselves and lead a healthy lifestyle. But it does mean that mothers must eat responsibly whilst pregnant."

The new research follows a previous study by the same team in which pregnant rats were given a diet rich in fat, sugar and salt. Many gave birth to offspring which over-ate and preferred junk food.