A western diet during pregnancy is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence
Just read this article and study about pregnant women on a western diet (high fat, high meat, high sugar) having a higher likelihood of Autistic/Adhd children.
"Smoking, alcohol, and unhealthy diets have long been known to influence foetal development. Now, a comprehensive clinical study from the University of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood (COPSAC) at the Danish Paediatric Asthma Centre, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, has found an association between maternal diet during pregnancy and the development of ADHD and autism in children.
“The greater a woman's adherence to a Western diet in pregnancy - high in fat, sugar, and refined products while low in fish, vegetables, and fruit—the greater the risk appears to be for her child developing ADHD or autism,” says lead author, Dr David Horner, MD, PhD.
The study identified a Western dietary pattern using data-driven analysis. Even moderate shifts along this dietary spectrum were associated with a markedly increased risk. For example, slight deviations towards a more Western diet were linked to a 66% increased risk of ADHD and a 122% increased risk of autism. However, this also presents an opportunity: even small dietary adjustments away from a Western pattern could potentially reduce the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders."
You can read all the details here:
https://www.sciencealert.com/maternal-diet-in-pregnancy-linked-to-childs-risk-of-future-disorders
Edit: just sharing for discussion. If anyone can access the full study (linked in either article) and share it would be much appreciated since I'd love to read all the details but I don't have an institutional login.
Edit 2: I bit the bullet and got the Nature subscription because I wanted to read the original study (and a few others). Here's a link to the PDF if you would like to have a read https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Clonbu1uMeErFNfdGLKAPIEsqkE8P3F3/view?usp=drivesdk