The Times of India
LONDON: A mother's cravings for sugary food during pregnancy seems to affect girls more than boys, a new study has suggested.
Researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand found that eating too much sugar during pregnancy can harm the nutrients reaching unborn female foetuses.
But unborn boys, made of "slugs, snails and puppy dogs' tails", are unaffected, the researchers found.
Tests on other mammals showed that sugar intake had different effects on their unborn male and female offspring, the Telegraph reported.
In the study, researchers gave female foetuses of mice the equivalent of 26 teaspoons of fructose solution - a natural sugar found in honey, fruit and some vegetables - a day.
It was found that they have smaller placentas than those on a low sugar diet. This suggests that the sugar blocks nutrients, said the researchers.
They also found that higher fructose and blood glucose levels in the female foetuses of fructose-fed rats were higher than their male counterparts, or any of the rat foetuses given only water.
Dr Mark Vickers,the lead author of the study who is currently conducting a follow-up study, claimed the findings highlighted the effects of a "marked increase" in sugar consumption by pregnant women.
He said: "There has been a marked increase in the consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages and foods, particularly among women of reproductive age.
"This is the first time that it has been suggested that female and male foetuses react differently to maternal fructose consumption, and that these sex-specific changes may be associated in changes in placental development."
The findings were published in the journal Endocrinology.
LONDON: A mother's cravings for sugary food during pregnancy seems to affect girls more than boys, a new study has suggested.
Researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand found that eating too much sugar during pregnancy can harm the nutrients reaching unborn female foetuses.
But unborn boys, made of "slugs, snails and puppy dogs' tails", are unaffected, the researchers found.
Tests on other mammals showed that sugar intake had different effects on their unborn male and female offspring, the Telegraph reported.
In the study, researchers gave female foetuses of mice the equivalent of 26 teaspoons of fructose solution - a natural sugar found in honey, fruit and some vegetables - a day.
It was found that they have smaller placentas than those on a low sugar diet. This suggests that the sugar blocks nutrients, said the researchers.
They also found that higher fructose and blood glucose levels in the female foetuses of fructose-fed rats were higher than their male counterparts, or any of the rat foetuses given only water.
Dr Mark Vickers,the lead author of the study who is currently conducting a follow-up study, claimed the findings highlighted the effects of a "marked increase" in sugar consumption by pregnant women.
He said: "There has been a marked increase in the consumption of fructose-sweetened beverages and foods, particularly among women of reproductive age.
"This is the first time that it has been suggested that female and male foetuses react differently to maternal fructose consumption, and that these sex-specific changes may be associated in changes in placental development."
The findings were published in the journal Endocrinology.
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