What To Eat When You Are Pregnant? Diet High In Refined Grains Could Cause Child's Obesity By Age 7

Children born to women with gestational diabetes whose pregnancy diet include high proportions of refined grains could be at a higher risk of obesity by age of 7, compared to children born to women who avoided refined grains in their diet, according to a new study. The findings, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, revealed the side effects of too much intake of refined grains during pregnancy.

The Diabetes & Women's Health Study, a research project led by Eunice Kennedy Shriver's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), revealed women with gestational diabetes, or high blood sugar during pregnancy, should include low portions of refined grains in their diet. About 5 percent of women in the United States suffer from gestational diabetes during pregnancy. This could lead to health problems for both the mother and the newborn.

Read: How To Boost Your Baby's IQ?

Previously, diets high in refined grains -- such as white rice -- have been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

In the latest study, researchers reportedly compared records from 918 mother-child pairs who took part in the Danish National Birth Cohort. They found that children born to women with gestational diabetes who consumed the most refined grain (more than 156 grams per day) were twice as likely to be obese at age 7, compared to children born to women with gestational diabetes who ate the least amount of refined grain (less than 37 grams per day).

Researchers suggested additional study needs to be conducted to find out whether obesity risk persists later in the child's life.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity affects about 12.7 million children and adolescents. In 2011-2014, the prevalence of obesity was 8.9 percent among children between two years and five years, compared with 17.5 percent between six years and 11 years and 20.5 percent between 12 years and 19 years.

Below are some tips, courtesy WebMD, on what you should include in your pregnancy diet.

1. Eat and drink at least four servings of dairy products and calcium-rich foods a day.

2. Eat at least three servings of iron-rich foods, such as lean meats, spinach, beans, and breakfast cereals each day to get the right amount of iron.

3. Choose from a variety of dairy products -- milk, cheese (especially cottage cheese), yogurt -- as well as baked potatoes, cooked navy beans, and limited amounts of seafood such as cod, salmon, and shrimp, for the daily intake of iodine for your body.

4. At least one good source of folate every day, like dark green leafy vegetables, veal, and legumes (lima beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, and chickpeas), must be added to your diet.

5. Sources of vitamin A such as carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, spinach, water squash, turnip greens, beet greens, apricots, and cantaloupe, must be consumed.

6. Avoid alcohol and limit your caffeine intake.

7. The total amount of fat must be reduced to 30 percent or less from your total daily calories.

8. Avoid adding shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish (also called white snapper), to your diet as they contain high levels of mercury.

9. Avoid raw fish, especially shellfish like oysters and clams.

10. Eat crackers, cereal, or pretzels before getting out of bed to avoid morning sickness, and also avoid any fatty, fried, spicy, and greasy foods.