Abstract
Mothers who underwent bariatric surgery (BS) before pregnancy have worrisome eating habits, but little is known about the eating habits of their offspring. EFFECTOR is a cross-sectional, long-term follow-up study of 4-11-year-old children born from mothers that underwent bariatric surgery before pregnancy (n = 36), mothers with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) in a control group (n = 71), and mothers with a normal weight (NW) in a second control group (n = 35). Data on anthropometry and on eating habits obtained through a Food Frequency Questionnaire were collected prospectively. The children's body mass index (BMI) scores significantly correlated with maternal pre-pregnancy BMI. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was the highest in children of the BS group (38.9% vs. 15.5% for children of the OW/OB group and 5.7% for those of the NW group; p = 0.004). Meal-skipping behavior was comparable between the groups. There was no difference in fruit and vegetable consumption. The BS group consumed more low-calorie sweetened beverages compared to the NW group (p = 0.01) but less fruit juice compared to the NW and OW/OB groups (p = 0.01). Our results may indicate a sugar-avoiding behavior in children of the BS group, fitting dietary maternal habits in a strategy to prevent dumping syndrome. In conclusion, maternal pre-pregnancy bariatric surgery does not alter unhealthy eating behaviors and the risk of development of overweight during childhood in their children.