The Link Between High Sugar Intake During Pregnancy and Asthma

A strong desire to consume chocolate, sweets and sugary drinks during pregnancy has unwanted consequences such as asthma and allergies in the child.

Researchers studied more than 9,000 mother-child pairs in the UK and found that children born to the 20% of mothers with the highest sugar intake during pregnancy were 38% more likely to have allergies by the age of 7 and 73% more likely to have two or more allergies.
At the age of 7, the children were assessed for common allergies such as dust, cats and grass.
The researchers found that compared with children born to women in the lowest sugar intake group,

these children were twice as likely to develop allergic asthma.
“We cannot say for sure that high sugar intake by mothers during pregnancy causes allergies and allergic asthma in their children,”

says Seif Shaheen, lead researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

The researchers emphasize that more studies are needed to confirm this link.