Maternal Diet During Pregnancy Linked to Child Overweight Risk
High maternal consumption of fruits and vegetables during pregnancy is associated with a significantly lower probability of overweight or obesity in children at age four, according to a study published in September 2026 in the journal Nutrients. Researchers from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili analyzed data from the ECLIPSES cohort in Spain to evaluate how early prenatal dietary patterns influence long-term childhood weight trajectories. While whole fruits and vegetables showed protective trends, commercially prepared fruit juice during pregnancy was linked to more than double the odds of childhood overweight or obesity.
Study Design and Dietary Assessment Methods
This questionnaire was administered at three distinct gestational milestones—12, 24, and 36 weeks of pregnancy—allowing investigators to calculate an average intake across all three trimesters.
Childhood overweight and obesity at age four were defined using World Health Organization growth standards. Specifically, researchers applied a body mass index (BMI) z-score above the 85th percentile for age and sex. To isolate the dietary effects, the team employed multivariable logistic regression models. These models adjusted for maternal age, baseline BMI, educational attainment, smoking status, total energy intake, and overall adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Fruit and Vegetable Intake Versus Commercial Juice Consumption
Combining the intake of fruits and vegetables revealed an inverse association with childhood overweight and obesity. Comparing the highest tertile of combined consumption to the lowest yielded an odds ratio of 0.31, representing a risk reduction of roughly 69 percent. When evaluated separately, neither fruit intake alone nor vegetable consumption alone reached statistical significance, though both pointed toward a protective effect with odds ratios of 0.47 and 0.48, respectively.
In sharp contrast, drinking commercial fruit juice during pregnancy showed a different outcome. Higher intake of industrial or packaged fruit juices was linked to increased odds of childhood overweight or obesity, with an odds ratio of 2.48 between the highest and lowest tertiles. However, natural home-prepared fruit juice made from fresh fruit showed no significant association with child weight outcomes.
Study Authors Note Biological Pathways and Research Limitations
The study authors noted that these associations likely involve both prenatal biological pathways and postnatal behavioral or family dietary patterns. Parental modeling, early flavor exposure, and the household food environment also shape long-term child eating behaviors.
Nevertheless, the researchers emphasized that the finding regarding commercial fruit juice must be considered exploratory due to multiple dietary comparisons and requires confirmation in larger prospective studies. Additional limitations include potential residual confounding from unmeasured factors such as gestational diabetes, paternal BMI, and child postnatal diet or physical activity. Substantial loss to follow-up occurred between initial recruitment and the four-year evaluation, and the observational design precludes establishing definitive causality.
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