Value of healthy diet during pregnancy

  

MANCHESTER, England (KABC) -- Women who eat a healthy diet during pregnancy have children with larger and stronger bones.

Researchers analyzed the diets of 198 pregnant women and made bone assessments of their children up to age nine.

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Results of the research showed that children born to mothers with the healthiest diets had 11 percent greater bone calcium content and 8 percent greater whole body bone area than those born to mothers who had the poorest patterns of dietary intake.

Scientists say a healthy diet during pregnancy may also lower the children's future risk of osteoporosis.

The study was presented this week at the National Osteoporosis Society Conference in the United Kingdom.

The study's author, Dr. Zoe Cole, said "an unhealthy diet during pregnancy may have huge ramifications for the unborn child's future bone health."

And further, "we reach our peak bone mass around our mid twenties so it's vital that young people accrue strong bone before then", Cole said.

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