Eating junk food while pregnant may make your child a junk food addict
SO. I have a few caveats to this report. FIRST, this study was done on rats. Rats ≠ people. So studies done on rats can't be simply transferred to our situations. It's much more complicated than that. BUT, it can give us indications on what MIGHT be true.
However, rats/mice are very physiologically similar to humans. Isn't that bizarre? So, I think we should consider the findings.
And lastly, this is approaching maternal nutrition through a "life course" lens. The Life Course Theory states that, during critical stages of development, nutrition can play a role in the child's life in such a way that it sets that child on a trajectory--or path--of health and wellness. So, if a mom is eating junk food, fast food, and candy her entire pregnancy, we shouldn't assume that it won't affect the child. Can you think of a more critical time in development than the ACTUAL development of your body?! The nutrition a woman gives her child in utero and all of the terribly complex and amazing hormonal and metabolic ways it changes a person are real. And it has lasting impact.
This slightly terrifies me... and slightly amazes me that if I carefully choose what I put into my body and feed my baby while pregnant, I can set them on a course for good health.
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