Impact of prenatal maternal dietary exclusion on childhood obesity and overweight risk

Abstract

Background Child birthweight is a measure of fetal nutrition that is primarily determined by prenatal maternal (PM) diet. Child birthweight and child obesity/overweight risk are well established to be linked. Nevertheless, no studies have investigated the impact of PM dietary exclusion on child obesity/overweight risk or body mass index z-score (BMIz). Objectives The study aimed to determine whether PM dietary exclusion affected the child’s BMIz, obesity/overweight risk, whether child birthweight serves as a mediator of this, and whether PM use of dietary supplements can protect against this. Methods Waves within the years 2004–2019 from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a population-based cohort study, were analyzed. The participants were aged 0 to 15 years during these waves of the study. Analysis was conducted using logistic and linear models. A total of 5,107 participants were involved in the first wave of the study. Results The PM exclusion of fish was associated with a higher risk of being underweight at age 14 or 15 years and mild-to-moderate obesity at age 6 or 7 years. The PM exclusion of egg was associated with a higher risk of being overweight at age 14 or 15 years. The exclusion of dairy was associated with more mixed effects. Mediation effects did not reach statistical significance. Moderation effects involving PM dietary supplement use, when they did occur, were associated with higher child BMIz and usually a higher risk of obesity/overweight. Conclusions Fish and eggs are likely important parts of PM diets for preventing childhood obesity and overweight. Further studies will be needed to determine reasons for this and the apparent adverse effects of dietary supplements on overweight/obesity risk.