Local News

Could a mother's diet increase child's risk of obesity?

By Mallika Marshall, MD

October 13, 2022 / 5:40 PM EDT / CBS Boston

BOSTON – Local researchers found that a mother's diet may have a significant impact on her child's risk of being overweight.

Almost 1 in 5 children and teens is obese. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard looked at about 20,000 mother and their children between the ages of 7 and 18 over four years and found that moms who ate the highest amounts of ultra-processed foods were 26% more likely to have an overweight or obese child.

Ultra-processed foods tend to be tasty, cheap, and high in calories, sugar, salt, and saturated fat. They include products like packaged sweets, desserts, and snacks.

This study stresses the importance of having parents model good eating habits around their children.

Boston

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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