Warning of the risk of obesity in children due to mothers eating too much fish during pregnancy

Children of mothers who ate too much fish during pregnancy, specifically more than three meals a week, had a higher risk of obesity in early life than children whose mothers ate less fish during pregnancy.

Illustration photo. (Source: leadinglady.com)

American scientists issued the above warning in a research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on February 15.

To reach the above conclusion, scientists at the University of Crete analyzed data from more than 26,000 mother-child pairs in the US and many European countries, including the amount of fish the mother ate each week during pregnancy and the health status of the child from the time in the womb until the age of 6.

The mothers in the study ate between 0.5 and 4.45 fish meals per week during pregnancy, compared to the three meals per week recommended by doctors. The results showed that children whose mothers ate more than three fish meals per week during pregnancy had a higher risk of being overweight or obese in the first two years of life and then at the ages of 4 and 6 years compared to children whose mothers ate less fish.

In addition, mothers who eat a lot of fish also increase the risk of exposure to toxic chemicals commonly found in fish, especially mercury, and these chemicals can be passed from mother to child, causing complications for the fetus.

Dr. Leda Chatzi, head of the research team, pointed out that the harmful effects of mothers eating a lot of fish during pregnancy affect the health of baby girls more than baby boys.

According to scientists, fish and other seafood provide a rich source of nutrition for pregnant women and fetuses, helping children develop their brains. However, to avoid counterproductive effects, pregnant women should note to only eat a maximum of three fish meals per week and especially should only eat natural fish, not contaminated with chemicals in industrial farming environments./.

According to Vietnam+