Mothers who use the excuse "I'm eating for two" and indulge in junk food during their pregnancy and while breastfeeding may put their children at risk of obesity, according to a British study.

The study, published Wednesday in the British Journal of Nutrition, involved feeding pregnant and lactating rats a diet of processed junk foods such as doughnuts, muffins, biscuits and sugary snacks, while another group of rats were fed a nutritious, balanced diet.

Eating large quantities of junk food when pregnant or breastfeeding could impair the normal control of appetite and promote an exacerbated taste for junk food in children.
(CBC)

It found that babies of rats fed nutritious food ate a normal amount of calories, but rats fed junk food gave birth to offspring that overate and opted for sugary, salty and fatty foods.

The baby rats fed junk food consequently developed an above-average body weight and body mass index.

"Our study has shown that eating large quantities of junk food when pregnant and breastfeeding could impair the normal control of appetite and promote an exacerbated taste for junk food in offspring," said the study's lead author Dr. Stephanie Bayol.

"This could send offspring on the road to obesity and make the task of teaching healthy eating habits in children even more challenging."

Bayol said that exposure to a maternal junk food diet while in the womb and during breastfeeding might help explain why some people find it harder than others to control their junk food intake — even when given access to healthier foods later in life.

Professor Neil Stickland, a co-author on the study who heads the research group at the Royal Veterinary College, believes that mothers should be aware of the risks associated with a poor diet.

"Future mothers should be aware that pregnancy and lactation are not the time to overindulge on fatty-sugary treats on the misguided assumption that they are eating for two."

According to the recent estimates from Health Canada's Canadian Community Health Survey, 59 per cent of the adult population in Canada is overweight. And one in four Canadian children and adolescents aged two to 17 years are overweight.