There is an association between a father’s consumption of vitamin D and the height and weight of his children at the age of 5.
Future dads, watch what you eat! It is not only the diet of women during their pregnancy that has an influence on the health of their unborn child. Indeed, a study presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Porto (Portugal) showed that there was an association between a father’s consumption of vitamin D and the height and weight of his children at age. of 5 years.
We know how important vitamin D is for the human body. In particular, it plays a major role in bone growth and mineralization. But the question of the influence of the father’s vitamin D intake before conception had been little studied until now.
No connection with the mother
Researchers from the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Sciences at the University of Dublin (Ireland) therefore analyzed the results of a study on the “Lifeways Cross-Generation” cohort, more specifically on 213 pairs. of father-child. This allowed them to discover an association between the father’s vitamin D intake – as he had reported them during the first trimester of pregnancy – and the size of his children at the age of 5 years. An association that was no longer significant at 9 years of age, the researchers note.
While on the mother’s side, vitamin D intake is known to play an important role in muscle and skeletal development and the overall health of the child, this study found no evidence of it. These are therefore results which “call for further investigations on family dietary trajectories”, conclude the authors of the study.
While vitamin D is available in drug form, it is also naturally present in some foods. These are mainly fatty fish (such as cod liver, salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc.), egg yolks and mushrooms such as shiitake. Regular exposure to the sun is also a way to increase the body’s production of vitamin D.
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