Washington D.C.: According to a recent study, pregnant women with higher intake of the Mediterranean diet have 32 per cent lower risk of having children with an accelerated growth pattern, as compared to offspring of women that did not follow such diet.

The Mediterranean diet is characterised by a high content of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, legumes and nuts. This healthy diet pattern has earlier been associated with lower obesity and cardiometabolic risk in adults. This study, conducted at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, aimed at evaluating the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy and growth patterns and cardiometabolic risk in early infancy.