TORONTO– A mother’s choice of food during pregnancy has an impact on what her offspring will choose to eat after birth, according to a study by scientists at the University of Toronto.
The study was published online March 19 in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
Researchers used rats to see how maternal intake of vitamins (A, D, E, and K) impacted the offspring’s brain development and behavior.
Much research on vitamins focuses on prevention of deficiencies and the toxicity of very high intakes, but what makes this study unique is its examination of the effect of vitamin intakes and of discretionary nutrient additions to foods (such as cereals), and an increased use of health foods and vitamin supplements.
During pregnancy many women consume better quality diets, but are also likely to use vitamin supplements, which combined may exceed vitamin intake requirements.
Fat soluble vitamins have distinct roles in fetal growth and development, and this study’s objective was to determine the effects of a high fat soluble vitamin diet during pregnancy on body weight gain, food intake and preference for palatable solutions in male Wistar rat offspring.
The results showed little effect on weight gain and food intake but did find that brain development and food preference were affected.
The research showed that high-vitamin maternal diets affected hedonic pathways regulating food preference in the offspring.
The application to human mothers and their offspring remains to be determined.
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0480#.VSNSTvnF8vy
