Researchers from the University of Colorado have found that inadequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy can raise the risk of a child developing fatty liver early in life. This finding appears in research summarized in Nutrition Journal.
Childhood non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly worrisome because it is tied to higher chances of diabetes, hepatitis, obesity, and other metabolic issues.
Animal studies showed that high-fat, high-sucrose diets in mothers were linked to NAFLD in offspring, and these results are now echoed in human research.
The study pooled data from 1,131 mother-infant pairs with complete records on maternal nutrition during pregnancy. A subset of children also underwent liver fat assessment with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in early childhood.
Findings indicated that stronger adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy correlated with lower liver fat in early childhood. Beyond high sugar intake, lower consumption of legumes and green vegetables in the mother’s diet was linked to an elevated risk of fatty liver in the child.
These associations remained when analyses accounted for the mother’s body mass index and activity levels during pregnancy.
In contrast, the study did not support earlier research suggesting that maternal triglyceride levels directly drive fat accumulation in the child’s liver. The results invite further exploration but underscore the potential influence of maternal diet on liver health in offspring.