JUNK FOOD DURING PREGNANCY HARMFUL TO BABIES

A junk food diet of fatty chips, crisps and biscuits consumed by 

expectant mothers can be as harmful to the unborn baby as 

smoking, a new research has warned.


Researchers found that junk food can have a damaging effect 

on the unborn baby, leading to them being born a far lower than 

average weight.


In fact, chips could be just as dangerous to an unborn baby as 

smoking, experts have cautioned.


Scientists have discovered that the culprit is a potentially 

deadly chemical called acrylamide which is found in home-

cooked and processed foods including crisps, chips, bread 

and coffee.


Acrylamide is a chemical which is produced naturally in food as 

a result of cooking starch-rich food at high temperatures, such 

as when baking or frying.


The study found that mothers-to-be who have a high intake of 

acrylamide are also more likely to have a baby which has a 

smaller head circumference.


The size of a child`s head has been associated with delayed 

neurodevelopment while lower birth weights have been 

associated with adverse health effects in early life.


Babies born to mothers with a high dietary intake of acrylamide 

were found to be up to 132 grammes lighter than babies born 

to mothers who had a low intake.


The average birth weight among children who were exposed to 

the highest levels of acrylamide compared with children in the 

lowest was around 100 grammes.


The effect caused by acrylamide is comparable to lower birth 

weights caused by smoking when pregnant and the infant`s 

heads were also up to 0.33 centimetres smaller.


186 women  study took part in this major European research 

programme. Researchers found that their babies had the 

highest levels of acrylamide out of all of the five centres, almost 

twice the level of the Danish babies.


When they investigated their diet it was clear that the largest 

source of dietary acrylamide was from chips.


Researchers examined the diets of 1,100 pregnant women 

between 2006 and 2010 in Denmark, England, Greece, 

Norway and Spain.


They used food-frequency questionnaires on mothers and also 

examined each baby`s cord blood - which provides information 

about levels of acrylamide exposure during the last months of 

pregnancy.



Reduced birth weight, in particular low birth weight, has been 

shown to be related to numerous adverse health effects early or 

later in life such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. 

Furthermore, reduced birth head circumference has been 

associated with delayed neurodevelopment.