Greater risk of rapid growth in infancy and childhood obesity appeared to be tied to an increased maternal consumption of fish while pregnant, according to Nikos Stratakis of the University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece, and his associates.
The study comprised 26,184 pregnant women from Europe and the United States, during 1996-2011. Among children of women who ate fish during their pregnancy, 31% showed rapid growth between birth and 2 years, and 34.6% of those aged 4-6 years were classified as overweight or obese.
Women who ate more fish (more than 3 times per week) gave birth to offspring with higher body mass indices (BMI) at ages 2, 4, and 6 years, compared with women who rarely ate fish (once or fewer times per week). High fish intake during pregnancy was linked with a higher risk of rapid infant growth from birth to 2 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.22) and a higher risk of offspring overweight/obesity at 4 years (aOR, 1.14) and 6 years of age (aOR, 1.22).
Lynda Banzi
The cohorts provided information on child height and weight up to a maximum follow-up of 6 years. The information was obtained from clinical examinations, medical records, or parents’ questionnaires. The permissible intervals of the nominal ages were within 3 months for the first 2 years and within 6 months onwards.
“This large, multicenter study indicates that fish intake of more than 3 times/week in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of rapid growth in infancy and increased adiposity in childhood,” the researchers concluded. The findings “are in line with the fish intake limit for pregnancy proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency,” they wrote.
Find the full study in JAMA Pediatrics (2016 [doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.4430]).