OLIVE OILS AND HEALTH 102 North American cohort study including 1459 pregnant mothers and children, it was observed that lower maternal adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with high body mass index in their children (3-15 years), although the individual role of olive oil consumption was not evaluated in this study. The INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) study was focused on childhood and environment and performed in four Spanish areas (Asturias, Gipuzkoa, Sabadell, and Valencia). In this study, diet during pregnancy was assessed in 1827 pregnant women and a subsequent follow-up of the offspring was performed. No association between maternal adherence to the Mediterranean diet during pregnancy and body mass index of the offspring at 4 years was found. An inverse association with waist circumference, a marker of abdominal obesity, in the offspring was, however, observed. In another recent review of 21 studies carried out by Livak et al., (2020), the role of macronutrient, food, beverages and dietary patterns during pregnancy was assessed. Results showed that following a Mediterranean dietary pattern, limiting the consumption of refined carbohydrate, during pregnancy was associated with decreased obesity risk in the offspring until the age of 18 years, although consistency of the results was low and the role of olive oil as a single food was not evaluated. Studies on diet and lactation are scarce when compared with those focusing on diet and pregnancy. The main topic of the former has been to analyse the possible effect of allergens on child allergy development. According to results from a 42-study review performed by Netting et al. (2014), the higher the mothers’ adherence to dietary patterns rich in fruit, vegetables, fish, and vitamin D rich foods, the lower the risk of allergies in children. Once again, however, olive oil was not evaluated as a single food. Apart from its contribution to the Mediterranean dietary pattern, current evidence regarding the health benefits of olive oil consumption during pregnancy is therefore scarce and inconsistent. Moreover, there is no evidence as to whether the type of olive oil consumed (i.e. common versus extra virgin olive oil) leads to differences in health benefits. Further prospective or intervention studies are needed to confirm the results obtained to date and provide a consistent body of evidence. Nevertheless, whilst the benefits of olive oil during lactation have not been established, no harmful effects for mother and child at this stage have been described.
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