A new Harvard University study has found that women who don’t watch what they eat during pregnancy can affect their child’s health well into the child’s teenage years.

If the pregnant woman’s diet is not nutritious, it raises her child’s risk during childhood and adolescence for:

• a higher body mass index (overweight or obesity),
• asthma,
• type 2 diabetes, and
• orthopedic problems.

However, a Mediterranean-type diet focused on fruits, vegetables, oils, vitamin D, and omega-3 could remedy this problem.

“Women should be made aware of how important a healthy diet is during pregnancy,” the researchers said.

“It is important to counsel women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant on the importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy,” adds Dr. Monthé-Drèze. “In particular, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should consider a Mediterranean diet, which may not only benefit their own health but may also help their child maintain a healthy weight.”

Learn more at StudyFinds. The findings were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

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