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| health information | health news

Mediterranean diet in pregnancy may cut risk of asthma in children

16 January 2008

This is the first study looking at how eating a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy can reduce the risks of the child developing asthma and other allergies.

Dr Leder Chatzi, lead author of the study

Key facts

Asthma is a condition in which the airways become irritated and inflamed.
Symptoms include coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest. These symptoms tend to be variable and may stop and start.
It's a common condition affecting one in 10 children in the UK.
A traditional Mediterranean diet contains lots of fruit and vegetables, as well as bread and cereals (mainly wholegrain), legumes and nuts. The main source of fat is olive oil.

Eating a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy may protect children from developing asthma symptoms, new research indicates.

The study was published this week in the journal Thorax. According to the authors, the results indicate that children whose mothers eat a largely Mediterranean diet during pregnancy, and whose own diet is similar to this, might be less likely to develop these conditions.

Dr Leder Chatzi, lead author of the study commented: "To our knowledge, this is the first study looking at how eating a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy can reduce the risks of the child developing asthma and other allergies."

"We will be conducting a further study in Crete, to see whether a Mediterranean diet has the same protective effect in children in this area," Dr Chatzi added.

Leanne Male, assistant director of research at Asthma UK commented: "This study adds to previous research which shows that a Mediterranean diet, which traditionally contains higher levels of fresh fruit and vegetables, can have a beneficial effect on asthma symptoms and specifically in this study that these benefits can be passed onto the pregnant mother's unborn child."

A total of 507 pregnant women took part in the study, which involved filling in a questionnaire about their general health and diet during their pregnancy and once a year afterwards, until their child reached six-and-a-half years old. They then attended a follow-up visit. For this, 468 of the children had a skin-prick test to establish whether they were allergic to certain allergens, such as grass pollen. The parents also completed questionnaires on their child's diet.

This study builds on earlier research carried out by the same research group last year (please see Related information for our earlier news story).