Fish oil intake during pregnancy increases the weight of the children sustainably

How does the intake of fish oil during pregnancy affect children??

Researchers have now found that if women take fish oil during pregnancy, it will lead to a higher body weight of children up to the age of six without increasing body fat.

Scientists at Copenhagen University found in their current research that taking fish oil during pregnancy leads to increased weight of born children during the first six years of life. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal British Medical Journal (BMJ).

As expectant mothers take fish oil supplements, it has a positive effect on bone mineral content and muscle mass. (Image: tunedin / fotolia.com)

Fish oil influences the development of fat cells during pregnancy

If expectant mothers take dietary supplements with fish oil during the later stages of pregnancy, this leads to a higher body mass index (BMI) of the children. Nevertheless, these children did not have higher levels of body fat compared to other children. Studies in animals have already shown that supplementing the diet with fish oil during pregnancy influences the development of fat cells. While studies on humans have shown that giving pregnant women with increased intake of fish oil gives birth to children with higher birth weights, the impact on children later in life has remained unclear. The results of the current study show that the children of women taking fish oil during pregnancy gain more weight in the first six years of life than other children.

Fatty acid chains are critical to the development of the brain

Nutrition in pregnancy and infancy is an important determinant for the development and health of children, explains study author Dr. Hans Bisgaard from Copenhagen University. In particular, the intake of fish with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) is important for proper development, adds the expert. These fatty acid chains are crucial for the development of a baby's brain, both in the womb and in the first few months of life during breastfeeding. However, the long-term effect on anthropometry or on the way the body proportions grow in infancy was uncertain, says dr. Bisgaard. Researchers from the United Kingdom and Denmark therefore examined the effects of fish oil supplements during pregnancy on the growth and body composition of children later in life.

736 women were studied in the study

The study included a total of 736 pregnant women taking daily either fish oil or olive oil from the 24th week of pregnancy to one week after birth. Height, weight, head and waist circumference were measured and assessed a total of eleven times during the study, from pre-birth to six years of age. The results showed a persistently higher BMI at the age of twelve months to the age of six years. The body composition of the children was assessed using the so-called double-energy X-ray absorptiometry at the age of 3.5 and six years. The scans showed that the higher BMI was not the result of a higher fat content but reflected a proportional increase in lean mass, bone mass and fat mass, suggesting that the fish oil supplement had a general growth stimulating effect.

Fish oil does not increase the risk of childhood obesity

At age six, the scans showed that children whose mothers had ingested fish oil during pregnancy had a 395g higher total mass, a 280.7g higher muscle mass, a 10.3g higher bone mineral content, and a 116.3g higher fat mass compared to the control group. Fish oil supplementation from the 24th week of pregnancy resulted in a higher BMI for children aged zero to six years, but not for an increased risk of obesity at the age of six, the doctors add. (As)