Eating chips during pregnancy is as bad and smoking and can lead to the birth of an "underweight" baby, said researchers after a recent study was conducted.
A chemical acrylamide, which found in high levels in foods like chips and toast, is said to be responsible for babies being born with low average weights. Researchers deemed the consumption of a large amount of chips and biscuits during pregnancy to be as bad as smoking while expecting a child.
"The estimated effect of high-level exposure to acrylamide is comparable to the well-known adverse effect of smoking on birth weight," said professor Manolis Kogevinas, study coordinator and joint scientific director from Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Spain. "These findings provide evidence supporting the need for changes in food production and for providing clear public health advice to pregnant women to reduce their dietary intake of foods that may contain high concentrations of acrylamide."
Dr. Marie Pedersen, CREAL researcher and first author of the article in a statement said, "Reduced birth weight, in particular low birth weight, has been shown to be related to numerous adverse health effects early or later in life such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Furthermore, reduced birth head circumference has been associated with delayed neurodevelopment."
"The potential public-health implications of our findings are substantial," the authors of the study said in a statement. "Increases in head circumference are an important indication of continued brain growth, and reduced birth head circumference has been associated with delayed neurodevelopment.
"The results provide further evidence about the potential toxicity of acrylamide and should also encourage food manufacturers to start exploring methods to reduce acrylamide in their products."
Researchers from Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Spain, Stockholm University and 20 other research centers across Europe carried out this study and analyses the cases of more than a thousand expecting mothers.
The findings were published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
