Consuming a High-Fat Diet During Pregnancy May Make Your Child Depressed

A mother's diet plays an important role in the maintaining the health and development of the new-born. This is easy to understand as the foetus derives all his or her nutrition from the mother. Analysing this fact, a new study conducted by Oregon Health and Science University shows that mothers who follow a high-fat diet during pregnancy may increase the risk of anxiety disorders in their child. The crucial thing here is to know that these researchers are talking about the unhealthy fats or consuming more fat than what is required by the body which has been often blamed for obesity. 

The study also shows that high-fat intake during pregnancy may lead to several other problems like the probability of developing mental health ailments during youth. The team conducted trials and experiments over a period of nine years using an animal model. For the study, a group of monkeys were fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy and it was seen that they produced offspring that were more anxious than those whose mothers ate a healthy diet during the same period.  

Scientists studied 65 female Japanese macaques at the Oregon National Primate Research Center in Beaverton. They were divided into two groups: one that ate a high-fat diet during pregnancy and the other that followed a regular health diet. They produced 135 offspring, including both males and females. The young animals were assessed when they were 11 months of old and researchers found that both males and females born to mothers who belonged to the high-fat group had anxiety disorders.

There's more - the researchers also found out that these mood changes in the offspring persisted even when they were put on a healthy diet - indicating a long-term health impact of consuming a high-fat diet. This is the first study to indicate that anxious behaviour persisted over time.

The team believes that these findings are of great important given the rates of maternal obesity and high levels of fat consumption in most nations. According to the renowned Journal Lancet, "Estimates suggest that 20% of women will be obese by 2025-a sobering statistic, particularly considering that obesity during pregnancy increases risk of adverse health outcomes to both mother and child. Obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of life-long health problems in children, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease."

During the study, researchers noted a range of mental health disorders in children of obese mothers. In their experiments, it was seen that new-born monkeys of obese mothers suffered from brain defects and abnormities in the central serotonin system. Serotonin, which is also known as a mood-enhancing chemical, is a neurotransmitter that is believed to affect not only your mood but also your appetite, digestion, sleep and memory. 

The findings suggest that the mother's diet during pregnancy can have a serious impact on behavioural disorders such as anxiety or depression in her child. However, more research and human trials are required to validate these results and the connection between high consumption of dietary fat and mental health problems. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology. 

Inputs from journal.frontiers.org