{"id":1733,"date":"2016-05-10T14:32:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-10T18:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caloriecontrol.org\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2020-11-06T00:25:35","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T05:25:35","slug":"study-pregnant-women-infant-weight-low-calorie-sweeteners-fails-evaluate-whole-diet-consider-unique-characteristics-developing-infants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caloriecontrol.org\/study-pregnant-women-infant-weight-low-calorie-sweeteners-fails-evaluate-whole-diet-consider-unique-characteristics-developing-infants\/","title":{"rendered":"Study on Pregnant Women, Infant Weight and Low Calorie Sweeteners Fails to Evaluate the Whole Diet or Consider Unique Characteristics of Developing Infants"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>May 10, 2016 &#8212; In the article \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/archpedi.jamanetwork.com\/article.aspx?articleid=2521471\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Association Between Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption During Pregnancy and Infant Body Mass Index<\/a>,\u201d published in May 2016 in <em>JAMA Pediatrics, <\/em>researchers from the University of Manitoba suggest that daily consumption of artificially sweetened beverages by women during pregnancy may increase their child\u2019s future risk of obesity. However, several important factors should be considered when reviewing the article and its conclusion.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Study was Observational, not Causal<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The observational study is based on self-reported intake of various foods and beverages by mothers during their pregnancy and the baby\u2019s weight at one year of age. The study uses data for women and their infants participating in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study. The research team used this self-reported data to determine if there was an association between various components of maternal lifestyle and diet with their baby\u2019s body weight. The study suggests that a baby\u2019s body mass index (BMI) at one year of age is associated with a mother\u2019s consumption of beverages sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy. Importantly, the authors reported that mothers who consumed low-calorie sweetened beverages were also likely to exhibit certain <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ajpmonline.org\/article\/S0749-3797(15)00752-7\/abstract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">risk factors<\/a> which are also associated with future childhood obesity, including pre-pregnancy obesity, tobacco use, and early introduction of solid foods to the infant.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Study Ignores Safety Record for Pregnant Women with Low Calorie Sweeteners<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the results are intriguing, the research team failed to mention that the use of low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy has been well studied both in humans and animals. \u201cBefore a low-calorie sweetener may be used in food or beverage, it must be determined by relevant regulatory bodies to be safe for all populations, including special populations such as the elderly, children, and pregnant and nursing women. These safety assessments include an evaluation of possible effects of low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy and have continued to show that these sweeteners are safe for pregnant women and their children,\u201d says Robert Rankin, President of the Calorie Control Council.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Study Neglects to Consider Tightly Controlled Fetal Nutrition During Pregnancy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Researching the role of a mother\u2019s diet during pregnancy has a long history, with much of the knowledge centering on how undernutrition can adversely affect pregnancy. The provocative and relatively new hypothesis that the risk for obesity may begin during fetal life has received a lot of attention in the last two decades. While the idea has become quite popular and many scientists are researching the topic, the current study by Azad et al. has limitations that raise more concern than provide hard evidence.<\/p>\n<p>The authors claim that their research findings suggest diet beverage consumption during pregnancy is related to the baby\u2019s body weight at one year. While it is common for mathematical corrections to be made to account for known factors which affect body weight in these types of observational studies, the researchers failed to address the unique nutrition of a fetus as they develop their model. It is well known that the transfer of numerous nutrients, fluid, and other food components to the fetus is tightly controlled. Understanding this biological regulation is essential for any discussion regarding the ability of a food or beverage to affect infant growth.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Study Doesn\u2019t Consider Whole Diet <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, this study only associated those sweeteners used in \u201cdiet soft drinks or pop\u201d and \u201cartificial sweetener added to tea or coffee,\u201d which represents a small portion of the mother\u2019s diet. Rather, the whole diet should have been evaluated by the researchers to get a clearer picture of the possible effects of maternal nutrition on their baby\u2019s growth. Low-calorie sweeteners can help pregnant women avoid excess calories, leaving room for consumption of nutritious foods and beverages. Excess weight gain during pregnancy can be harmful to both the mother and developing baby. Research shows that overweight and obesity as well as diabetes can negatively affect pregnancy outcomes and a child\u2019s future weight gain and risk for obesity. This is particularly important as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/pcd\/issues\/2014\/pdf\/13_0415.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prevalence of diabetes<\/a> during pregnancy, known as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), is as high as 9.2% and pre-pregnancy <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4424789\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">obesity prevalence<\/a> continues to increase. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.acog.org\/Resources-And-Publications\/Committee-Opinions\/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice\/Weight-Gain-During-Pregnancy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ACOG<\/a>) recognizes the importance of appropriate weight gain during pregnancy. Weight gain during pregnancy can affect the immediate and future health of a woman and her infant, so women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant should discuss their current weight and weight gain with a healthcare provider.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Other Health Groups Support Low Calorie Sweeteners During Pregnancy<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Leading health groups, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.eatrightpro.org\/resource\/practice\/position-and-practice-papers\/position-papers\/use-of-nutritive-and-nonnutritive-sweeteners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AND<\/a>) and American Diabetes Association (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.diabetes.org\/food-and-fitness\/food\/what-can-i-eat\/understanding-carbohydrates\/artificial-sweeteners\/?referrer=https:\/\/www.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ADA<\/a>), support the use of low-calorie sweeteners during pregnancy to assist with control of calories and weight management. Further, global regulatory agencies have studied the use of low-calorie sweeteners in special populations, including pregnant and nursing women, and deemed them to be safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 10, 2016 &#8212; In the article \u201cAssociation Between Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption During Pregnancy and Infant Body Mass Index,\u201d published in May 2016 in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Manitoba suggest that daily consumption of artificially sweetened beverages by women during pregnancy may increase their child\u2019s future risk of obesity. However, several [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,180,56],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Study on Pregnant Women, Infant Weight and Low Calorie Sweeteners Fails to Evaluate the Whole Diet or Consider Unique Characteristics of Developing Infants - Calorie Control Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/caloriecontrol.org\/study-pregnant-women-infant-weight-low-calorie-sweeteners-fails-evaluate-whole-diet-consider-unique-characteristics-developing-infants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Study on Pregnant Women, Infant Weight and Low Calorie Sweeteners Fails to Evaluate the Whole Diet or Consider Unique Characteristics of Developing Infants - Calorie Control Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 10, 2016 &#8212; In the article \u201cAssociation Between Artificially Sweetened Beverage Consumption During Pregnancy and Infant Body Mass Index,\u201d published in May 2016 in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers from the University of Manitoba suggest that daily consumption of artificially sweetened beverages by women during pregnancy may increase their child\u2019s future risk of obesity. 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