Share:
Eating Disorder Balanced nutrition protects against food cravings
Researchers have discovered that food cravings due to stress during pregnancy are already programmed in the fetal brain. In addition, they found that the outbreak of this eating disorder in adolescents can be prevented by a balanced diet.
Living conditions of expectant mothers
It has been known for some time that the circumstances of expectant mothers during pregnancy have a negative impact on the subsequent life of the offspring and make men and women susceptible to various diseases. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich wanted to find out if this phenomenon also plays a role in eating disorders.
According to a recent study, food cravings due to stress during pregnancy are already programmed in the fetal brain. The outbreak of this eating disorder in adolescents can be prevented by a balanced diet. (Image: JenkoAtaman / fotolia.com) Eating habits of pregnant women
When women become pregnant, their eating habits change radically. This also has an impact on the offspring.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich have shown in a recent study that food cravings due to stress during pregnancy are already programmed in the fetal brain.
The decisive factor is therefore the gender of the child. The programming does not necessarily lead to the appearance of the eating disorder, it only occurs under certain triggers.
The scientists also found out that the onset of the disorder in adolescents can be prevented by a balanced diet.
Up to three percent of Germans suffer from food cravings
According to the experts, food cravings are a common eating disorder that affects up to three percent of the population, mostly women. Those affected often consume large amounts of food within a very short time.
Eating habits are compulsive, and patients often say they are not in control. Many sufferers are overweight and are at increased risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
Often patients with food cravings also suffer from depression and low self-esteem and are more prone to anxiety disorders.
Female offspring of mice were more likely to develop feeding attacks
The Munich scientists investigated whether the mother's circumstances during pregnancy can also have an effect on eating disorders.
In the mouse model, they were able to biologically reproduce the activation of the central stress response during advanced pregnancy.
Then they tested if the offspring were prone to food cravings during puberty.
They found that female offspring of mice stressed during pregnancy developed more binge eating than female offspring of non-stressed mice.
Outbreak of food cravings prevented
"Now we wanted to know how stress causes food cravings," said lead author Mariana Schroeder, a postdoctoral fellow in the research group of the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Alon Chen, in a statement.
"We found that many molecules in the hypothalamus of the affected offspring were epigenetically altered. However, this programming during pregnancy does not always lead to disturbed eating habits, "says the expert.
"Only when certain triggers occur during puberty, the changes already made by prenatal programming are noticeable."
Alon Chen was very pleased with the results of his research group: "The most notable feature of the study is that we were able to completely stop the outbreak of food cravings by giving the adolescent mice a well-balanced diet."
He added, "This study proves that food cravings are based on prenatal programming. It also gives us a crucial insight into a previously neglected area of research. "
Balanced nutrition for pregnant women
Experts repeatedly point out how important a balanced diet is for expectant mothers. Pregnant women should eat regularly and throughout the day. As a rough guide, three main meals per day are required.
If the hunger comes in between, two snacks can be added as needed.
"The food selection and thus the composition of the nutrients should be done very carefully during pregnancy," writes the German Society for Nutrition (DGE) on its website, where further recommendations can be found. (Ad)