A recent study has revealed that eating too much fish during pregnancy can lead to child obesity. It also noted that this affects kids when they are already 4 to 6 years old.
Albany Daily Star said the JAMA Pediatrics study detailed that a mother's intake of fish has effects on the weight of the baby she carries on her stomach. Researchers explained that this could be due to the abundance of Omega-3 fatty acids in fish.
Another possible reason for the obesity effect, as per the researchers, are the pollutants found in fish which they claim affect hormones and metabolism. It also aids to more fats stored inside the body.
However, the proponents of the study admitted that they have no complete data on the entire diet of mothers during pregnancy and her exercise routine. But they claimed that their intake of food, including fatty acids, will likely have an effect on the weight of their children.
"Women who ate fish more than three times per week when they were pregnant gave birth to children with higher BMI values at two, four and six years of age compared with women who ate fish less," part of the study read. It also highlighted that the fish intake of moms was highly associated with the risk of kids being overweight when they reach four to six years.
Lead author Dr. Leda Chatzi from the University of Crete said in a Reuters report that pregnant women should limit their consumption of fish to three servings a week.
"Our findings indicate that women should adhere to current fish consumption guidelines," she added. "In general, women should eat a variety of types of fish each week and avoid consumption of large predatory fish such as king mackerel, swordfish, shark and tilefish," Chatzi explained noting that some identified varieties of fish may cause more bad effects to mothers and babies they are carrying.
