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Eating Junk Food While Pregnant? Child May Become Junk Food Addict
New research shows that eating a junk food diet during pregnancy changes the development of the opioid signaling pathway in the baby's brain
Here's another reason why a healthy diet during pregnancy is critical to the future health of your children: New research published in the March 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, suggests that pregnant mothers who consume junk food actually cause changes in the development of the opioid signaling pathway in the brains of their unborn children.
This change results in the babies being less sensitive to opioids, which are released when foods high in fat and sugar are consumed. In turn, these children are born with a higher "tolerance" to junk food and need to eat more of it to achieve a "feel good" reaction.
"The results of this research will ultimately allow us to better inform pregnant women about the lasting effect their diet has on the development of their child's lifelong good preferences and risk of metabolic disease," said Beverly Muhlhausler, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the FOODplus Research Centre at the School of Agriculture Food and Wine at The University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia. "Hopefully, this will encourage mothers to make healthier diet choices which will lead to healthier children."
To make this discovery, Muhlausler and colleagues studied
the pups of two groups of rats, one of which had been fed
a normal rat food and the other which had been fed a range
of human "junk foods" during pregnancy and lactation.
After weaning, the pups were given daily injections of an
opioid receptor blocker, which blocks opioid signaling.
Blocking opioid signaling lowers the intake of fat and
sugar by preventing the release of dopamine.
Results showed that the opioid receptor blocker was less
effective at reducing fat and sugar intake in the pups of the
junk food fed mothers, suggesting that the opioid signaling
pathway in these offspring is less sensitive than for pups
whose mothers are eating a standard rat feed.
"This study shows that addiction to junk food is true addiction." said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "Junk food engages the same body chemistry as opium, morphine or heroin. Sad to say, junk food during pregnancy turns the kids into junk food junkies."
Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is among the most cited biology journals worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century. FASEB is composed of 26 societies with more than 100,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Its mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to its member societies and through collaborative advocacy.
Details: Jessica R. Gugusheff, Zhi Yi Ong, and Beverly S. Muhlhausler. A maternal "junk-food" diet reduces sensitivity to the opioid antagonist naloxone in offspring postweaning. FASEB J March 2013 27:1275-1284, doi:10.1096/fj.12-217653 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/27/3/1275.abstract
Original article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/foas-pmb022813.php
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