"Moms’ Soda Habit In Pregnancy May Boost Kids’ Odds For Asthma" - Dennis Thompson

Kids are more likely to develop asthma if their moms chug sugary drinks during pregnancy, a new study suggests. Expectant mothers who drank an average of two sugar-sweetened beverages a day were over 60 percent more likely to have kids diagnosed with asthma when they were 7 to 9 years old than were women who drank no sugary beverages while pregnant, Harvard researchers found. The study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that a pregnant woman's diet can have long-term consequences for the health of her child, said Rosalind J. Wright, MD, dean for translational biomedical research, Horace W. Goldsmith professorship in children’s health research, and professor of pediatrics, critical care, pulmonary and sleep medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved with the new study. “Increasingly we are understanding that the processes that put a kid on a trajectory for obesity and asthma start in pregnancy,” Dr. Wright said. “This may give us some clues to how early life programming of asthma starts in utero, and how we might intervene more directly to give children a healthy start.” She added that, “This adds further evidence that we need to improve dietary intakes in mothers, not just for their own health but for the health of their offspring. We know women are very motivated to change behaviors if they believe it's going to help their children."

- Rosalind J. Wright, MD, Dean, Translational Biomedical Research,  Horace W. Goldsmith Professorship, Children’s Health Research, Professor, Pediatrics, Critical Care, Environmental Medicine, Public Health, Pulmonary, and Sleep Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai  

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The Wichita Eagle

Boston Herald