- Study links diets high in fat and sugar with attention disorders
- Previous studies found children with poor diets developed ADHD
- But a new study suggests the process affecting brain starts in the womb
Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com
1
View
comments
Women who eat high-fat and high-sugar diets during pregnancy are more likely to have children with ADHD, a new study claims.
Previous research found infants who ate unhealthy food were more likely to develop behavioral problems – like lying or fighting – and attention-deficit/hyperactivity dirsoder (ADHD).
But a new study suggests this process could begin in the womb.
According to the findings, publishing today in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, fatty and sweet diets mutate a gene that controls brain development.
While this idea is not knew, this is the first research to directly link a mother’s diet to the process, and to show how it works.
Fatty and sweet diets mutate a gene that controls brain development, a new study says
SMOKING IN PREGNANCY ‘ALSO CAUSES ADHD’
Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk your baby will suffer ADHD, addiction and other behavioral problems in later life.
Early exposure to nicotine can trigger widespread genetic changes that affect formation of connections between brain cells long after birth.
The conclusions, from a new Yale-led study, reiterate those of past research that details the dangers of women smoking while they are expecting.
The findings help explain why maternal smoking is linked to behavioral changes.
Scientists discovered nicotine causes damage by affecting a master regulator of DNA packaging.
This in turn influences the activity of genes crucial to the formation and stabilization of synapses between brain cells.
Professor of psychiatry, Marina Picciotto, from the Child Study Center at Yale, and senior author of the paper, said: ‘When this regulator is induced in mice, they pay attention to a stimulus they should ignore.’
It has been hailed as a wake-up call for health officials and policymakers to publicize the importance of nutrition during pregnancy.
Early onset conduct problems and ADHD are the leading causes of child mental health referral in the UK and the US.
These two disorders tend to occur in tandem (more than 40 per cent of children with a diagnosis of conduct disorder also have a diagnosis of ADHD).
They can also be traced back to very similar prenatal experiences such as maternal distress or poor nutrition.
In this new study by Kings College London, 83 children with early-onset conduct problems were compared with 81 children who had low levels of conduct problems.
The researchers assessed how the mothers’ nutrition affected changes to IGF2, a gene involved in fetal development and the brain development of areas implicated in ADHD – the cerebellum and hippocampus.
Notably, mutation of this gene had previously been found in children of mothers who were exposed to famine in the Netherlands during World War II.
The researchers from King’s and Bristol found that poor prenatal nutrition, comprising high fat and sugar diets of processed food and candy, was associated with higher IGF2 mutation in children with early onset conduct problems and those with low conduct problems.
This mutation was also associated with higher ADHD symptoms between the ages of seven 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 that poor prenatal nutrition was associated with higher IGF2 methylation highlights the critical importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy.
-
Bad news if you’re the eldest: Younger siblings have a lower…
Why ‘smart drugs’ can make you LESS clever – especially if…
‘These 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.’
Dr Barker added: ‘We now need to examine 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 lead to lower ADHD and conduct problems, so it will be important for future research to examine the role of epigenetic changes in this process.’
Share or comment on this article
-
e-mail
Most watched News videos
-
Ryan Lochte enters athletes’ village after gunpoint robbery -
Shocking racist diatribe by bikini-clad woman caught on camera -
Allyson Felix drops baton after being bumped in 4x100m relay -
Well endowed pole vaulter suffers unfortunate Olympic mishap -
Is that Big Foot? Dog’s GoPro camera appears to record sasquatch -
Michelle Jenneke does signature warm up routine at Rio Olympics -
Woman confronts man who is ‘rubbing’ himself on the subway -
Michelle Jenneke’s internet sensation warm up dance -
Heartbreaking footage of Syrian children injured in civil war -
Strange creature spotted in the desert before disappearing -
Bolt cracks a smile joking with rival runner during the 200m -
911 audio of a neighbor who was attacked by Austin Harrouff
-
What robbery? Brazilian police say Ryan Lochte’s wallet was…
-
Two swimmers hauled off Rio plane by police as Lochte…
-
Drunk Lochte and swimmer friends were NOT robbed but instead…
-
‘You should have stayed in Africa’: Ranting mum launches…
-
How one US college has won nearly as many medals as Brazil!…
-
Brady Bunch actress Eve Plumb sells the $3.9m Malibu home…
-
EXCLUSIVE: Shaken Ryan Lochte seen in new security footage…
-
The photo that shocked the world: Horrors of war-ravaged…
-
Is zombie drug Flakka behind cannibal frat boy attack?…
-
‘I had a rough night, I felt so sick and then was sick. I…
-
Is this the saddest gold medallist at the Games? North…
-
The only time a man wishes he had a SMALLER penis! Japanese…
Comments (1)
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now