Report links early food with later-life disease

A draft report exploring links between maternal, fetal and child nutrition and later-life diseases has been produced by the Food Standards Agency’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN).

Last week SACN issued its draft report on The influence of maternal, fetal and child nutrition on the development of chronic disease in later life​ for consultation. The review was undertaken by the SACN Subgroup on Maternal and Child Nutrition and SACN is seeking views on its contents before it issues recommendations for action.
The report examines the influence of maternal, fetal and child nutrition, including growth and development in utero and early childhood (up to five years old), on later disease development. It also considers the broader implications of maternal and child health, focusing on surveys of the diet and nutrition of UK women and children, and smaller studies of pregnant women.
The evidence associating early life nutrition with later risk of chronic disease comes from many sources and is “variable in quality”, reported SACN. However, it added that studies “give cause for concern about the later health consequences of compromised nutrient supply during early growth and development”
The report concludes that experimental studies in animals have demonstrated the existence of ‘critical periods’ in early development during which alteration of nutrient supply may alter structure and function irreversibly. This phenomenon has been labeled ‘nutritional programming’. It offers opportunities for intervention, which may reduce the risk of chronic disease in later life.
National survey data have consistently indicated that many adults and children in the UK, particularly those socially or educationally deprived, have diets of poor quality, the report said. The impact of energy-dense diets of low micronutrient content on women and girls is of particular concern, it added. Rising obesity in girls and young women represents “an important and modifiable risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome”, the report noted.

The consultation will run until April 30.