Gravida och ammande råttor som äter 'junk food' får ungar som föredrar samma dåliga mat och blir tjockare än andra:
A maternal ‘junk food’ diet in pregnancy and lactation promotes an exacerbated taste for ‘junk food’ and a greater propensity for obesity in rat offspring
British Journal of Nutrition 15 Aug 2007
"Obesity is generally associated with high intake of junk foods rich in energy, fat, sugar and salt combined with a dysfunctional control of appetite and lack of exercise. There is some evidence to suggest that appetite and body mass can be influenced by maternal food intake during the fetal and suckling life of an individual. However, the influence of a maternal junk food diet during pregnancy and lactation on the feeding behaviour and weight gain of the offspring remains largely uncharacterised. In this study, six groups of rats were fed either rodent chow alone or with a junk food diet during gestation, lactation and/or post-weaning. The daily food intakes and body mass were measured in forty-two pregnant and lactating mothers as well as in 216 offspring from weaning up to 10 weeks of age. Results showed that 10 week-old rats born to mothers fed the junk food diet during gestation and lactation developed an exacerbated preference for fatty, sugary and salty foods at the expense of protein-rich foods when compared with offspring fed a balanced chow diet prior to weaning or during lactation alone. Male and female offspring exposed to the junk food diet throughout the study also exhibited increased body weight and BMI compared with all other offspring. This study shows that a maternal junk food diet during pregnancy and lactation may be an important contributing factor in the development of obesity."
"This study therefore emphasises that healthy eating habits should be encouraged, not only in young children but also in pregnant and breastfeeding women, to help combat the obesity epidemic. The message to instil in populations is that women may not consider pregnancy and breastfeeding as an opportunity to overindulge on fatty, sugary and salty foods, on the misguided assumption that they are ‘eating for two’. Indeed, we show evidence that a maternal junk food diet might promote an exacerbated taste for junk food and a greater propensity for obesity in offspring, which might in turn make it more difficult to encourage healthy eating habits and thereby control obesity and related problems."
