Shellby Haubner
00302099
Nutrition Assignment
The authors all belonged to the department of veterinary sciences at the Royal Veterinary
College in London, England. The article, “Evidence that a maternal “junk food” diet during pregnancy
and lactation can reduce muscle force in offspring”, tested how malnutrition of rodent mothers affected
their offspring. The question to be answered is whether or not the junk food could impair the
development of muscle force in their offspring. There was also a speculation that the malnutrition of the
mother can influence the chance of obesity in the child.
The method used to test the muscle force was dissection of lower rodent limbs. The animals
were separated into three groups depending on what they ate during gestation, lactation, and the
weaning period. The groups were called CCC which during all phases ate only regular food. Second there
was JJC which ate junk food during gestation and lactation, but ate regular food during the weaning
period. Lastly there was JJJ who ate junk food throughout all the phases. The junk food was a processed
palatable food designed for humans. The junk food contained high levels of fat, salt, and sugar. The
results found that the groups who ate the junk food in their diet increased their intake of energy, fat,
sugar, and salt, but reduced their protein intake. After ten weeks the rodents were killed and dissected.
The legs of the animals were cut open and their muscles were stimulated by an electrical impulses. The
muscle contractions were then measured and compared between the groups. The group not given the
junk food (CCC) had the best results with little muscle atrophy. Group JJC had some muscle atrophy, and
group JJJ had the most muscle atrophy. What the experimenters concluded about this experiment is
that malnutrition of mothers during gestation, lactation, and weaning has a correlation to muscle force
in offspring. The more junk food ate, the higher amount of muscle atrophy was found in the offspring.
The influence affected muscle development, adiposity, and eating behaviors in the offspring. Not only
did the offspring show muscle atrophy, they had fewer muscle fibers. The result of the malnutrition can
affect the offspring’s ability to exercise which can then lead to obesity.
This article interested me because so many pregnant mothers do not eat a proper diet, which is
not only hurting themselves but their children. After reading this article I realized how important it is to
eat healthy, and eat the nutrients needed to live a healthy life. Pregnant women need to realize how
important it is to eat lots of vegetables, fruits, and other natural foods, because it affects their children
more than themselves. Junk food is not worth producing an offspring with muscle development
problems.
Citation:
Bayol, Stephanie A., Raymond Macharia, Samantha J. Farrington, Bigboy H. Simbi, and Neil C. Stickland.
"Evidence That a Maternal "junk Food" Diet during Pregnancy and Lactation Can Reduce Muscle Force in
Offspring." European Journal of Nutrition48.1 (2008): 62-65. Olsenlibrary.com. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.