Why is America so Fat??? – In Utero Big Macs

New research shows that moms who eat junk food (a diet high in sugar, fat and salt) doom their kids to a life of obesity, high blood sugar, high levels of circulating insulin, high triglycerides and/or cholesterol.

I knew it, it’s all my mom’s fault.

It’s always the mom’s fault. Not enough love. Too much love. Breastfeeding. Not breastfeeding. Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy…

Now this.

Just kidding, sort of.

This study, led by Stéphanie A Bayol, showed that a “maternal junk food diet promotes adiposity in offspring and brings on the earlier onset of hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and/or hyperlipidemia”.

Even when the Big Mac eating mama’s kids (fyi, these were rat babies – it just seems that human moms have become a little reluctant to expose their unborn children to cigarette smoke, toxic chemicals and twinkies all in the name of science) were switched over to the “healthy” rat chow, they still had excess body-fat and enlarged fat cells.

Luckiest of all were the Big Mac eatin’ girl rats, who showed significantly higher levels of IGF-1, IRS-1, VEGF-A, PPARã, leptin, adiponectin, adipsin, LPL, Glut 1, and Glut 3 mRNA expression than their non-twinkie eating sisters. The male chalupa eaters got off easier. They showed elevated levels of only IRS-1, VEGF-A, Glut 4 and LPL, when compared to their carrot eating brothers.

The study’s authors concluded that, “a maternal junk food diet promotes adiposity in offspring and the earlier onset of hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and/or hyperlipidemia. Male and female offspring also display a different metabolic, cellular and molecular response to junk-food-diet induced adiposity”.

What does this mean?

First off, I was kidding about everything being mom’s fault – Mom’s have it hard enough without this kind of guilt being dumped in their laps.

However, this study shows that the 9 month gestational period has an enormous effect on the rest of the baby’s life. When a mom-to-be succumbs to the lure of the Golden Arches, she may be setting her unborn child up for a lifetime of obesity, health problems, societal stigma, stress, depression, etc…

The list goes on and on.

To avoid these problems, I have to come back to my mantra – Eat a healthy diet of high quality protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables.

Here are some links - here, here, here and here.

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Thanks.