Mom's diet could influence baby's gender

A mother's diet around the time of conception may play a role in determining the gender of her babies, findings published April 22 in the online Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggest.

Investigators studied the diets of 740 first-time mothers living in the United Kingdom who did not know their unborn child's gender. Results showed that 56% of the women with the highest-energy diets had sons, compared with 45% of women with the lowest-energy diets. There was also a strong association between eating breakfast cereals and having sons.

In addition, separate findings presented at the International Symposium on Early Nutrition Programming in Granada, Spain, showed that 95% of 2,000 European mothers believed that their babies' diet was important for health during the first year of life.

Although less of them were sure (85% to 90%) that the way they fed their babies had an impact on their long-term health, the percentages are considered high since this notion has not yet been reflected in official advice for parents, the researchers stated.