Eating fish more than three times in a week during pregnancy has been associated with mothers giving birth to babies at increased risk of rapid growth in infancy and of childhood obesity.
This is the outcome of an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
Fish is a common source of human exposure to persistent organic pollutants, which may exert endocrine-disrupting properties and contribute to the development of obesity.
Obesity is a condition where a person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health.
If a person’s bodyweight is at least 20 per cent higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese.
A Body Mass Index (BMI) that is between 25 and 29.9 is considered to be overweight.
In 2014, the United States Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency encouraged women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or likely to become pregnant to consume no more than three servings of fish per week to limit fetal exposure to methyl-mercury.
There is no clear answer about the optimal amount and type of fish intake during pregnancy with regard to child growth and development. Leda Chatzi, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Crete, Greece, and coauthors, analysed data from 26,184 pregnant women and their children in European and United States’ studies to examine associations with maternal fish intake and childhood growth and overweight/ obesity.
Children were followed-up until the age of six.