Omega-3 Fats During Pregnancy Improve Newborn Weight Health

by | Aug 4, 2011 | Infant and Children's Health, Pregnancy and Lactation, Reproductive Health, Women's Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In a study of 1250 women with the greatest intakes of omega-3 fats were 32% less likely to have obese children. Mother’s having more than two servings of fish per week decreased the risk of obesity in newborns by 47%.

Now a new study (8) has found that omega-3 fats during pregnancy may also help maintain a healthy bodyweight fat % in newborns. Research has shown that body composition evolves dramatically during early development. The contribution of fat to overall bodyweight can range from 1–2% of body weight in a 1000-gram preterm infant (2.2 lb) to 20% of body weight in a 3500-g term infant (7.7 lb) (9).

In the study, 1,250 women with an average age of 32 participating in Project Viva (10) at an average 29 weeks of pregnancy completed a food frequency questionnaire (10) of more than 140 different foods. The mothers eventually gave birth to 1,401 babies who were followed up at 3 years age. The researchers obtained blood samples at the time of birth and at the 3-year follow-up. Fat levels in the infants (called ‘adiposity’) were measured in the form of skinfold thickness over a muscle in the shoulder (subscapularis muscle) and the triceps muscle (SS + TR).

The researchers found a direct inverse relationship between omega-3 blood levels during pregnancy and the risk of obesity in the infants. Specifically, infants with mothers having EPA+DHA intakes of 1500 mg per day were 32% less likely to be obese (defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) > 95th percentile). For total omega-3 fat intake (which includesALA intake), mothers getting 1,160 mg per day had infants who were 23% less likely to be obese. Unfortunately, the researchers did not give a comparison EPA+DHA/total omega-3 intake for these 2 results.

Finally, fish intake was a significant predictor of adiposity in newborns. Mothers getting more than 2 servings of fish per week decreased obesity risk by 47% in their newborns compared to those getting less than 2 servings per week.

For the researchers, “these results suggested that higher prenatal fish intake and exposure to [higher total omega-3 fatty acids] were associated with lower adiposity in early childhood.”

Source: Donahue, Sara MA, et al. “Prenatal fatty acid status and child adiposity at age 3 y: results from a US pregnancy cohort.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 93.4 (2011): 780-788.

© 2011 American Society for Nutrition

Posted August 4, 2011.

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