Influence of Diet on Sex of Foetus

posted: Thursday, April 24, 2008 | Categories: Womens Health

For many years there have been tales of how a mother’s eating habits could influence the sex of her unborn child. These claims have often been dismissed as old wives tales but now it seems that there could be an element of truth to be had in these stories.

New research claims that a high-calorie diet and regularly eating breakfast in the run up to conception increases the odds of having a boy. It also suggests that a high glucose diet at this time will increase the chance of having a son. It is not exactly clear why this dietary pattern might have an impact but it has been known for some time in IVF research that high glucose levels inhibit the development of a female embryo whist encouraging the development of the male embryo. Although these two observations are separate, there might be some connection in the influence that environmental factors have on the sex of a foetus.

This latest research appears this month in the Royal Society journal Biological Sciences. It followed the eating patterns of 740 first-time mothers-to-be during the months leading up to conception and throughout the pregnancy. The results showed that 56 percent of mothers with the highest calorie intake had boys compared with just 45 percent with the lowest. The scientists also discovered that women who had eaten the widest and highest quality nutrients were more likely to have a son.

The modern trend in developed countries is for women to eat low-calorie diets. This social habit has led to a decline in the number of boys being born: in the last forty years for every thousand children born the number of boys, per year, has dropped by one.

Why diet might have an influence on sex is purely conjecture but nature has a strange way of influencing the balance of the species in response to various external conditions and, in evolutionary terms, a plentiful supply of food would provide a better environment for a male who is capable of fathering more offspring than a female is capable of producing, thereby making potential grandchildren more viable.

Although the results of the research are interesting from an academic point of view, women should not restrict their diets in an attempt to influence the sex of the child. Even minor alterations at the time of conception and throughout pregnancy could affect the life-long health of their unborn baby.

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