Study finds ‘Western diet’ during pregnancy linked to ADHD in children

18 March 2025

A new peer reviewed study from The Danish Children’s Asthma Center at Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen, shows a strong correlation between mothers adopting what the researchers call “a western diet” during pregnancy and the prevalence of ADHD and autism among their children. The researchers define the Western diet as a diet rich in sugar and fat, with few portions of fish, vegetables, and fruit.

They found that, for women who adopted the western diet during pregnancy, this could increase the risk of ADHD by 66 percent and autism by 122 percent for their children. To arrive at the results, researchers examined dietary habits, blood tests, and ADHD diagnoses in over 60,000 mother-child pairs from Denmark and the United States. They analysed blood samples to determine how diet influenced various components in the blood.

Animal fat, starch products, energy and high-sugar drinks, fatty dairy products, and snacks were the food groups to have the greatest impact on the risk of the child developing ADHD and autism.

Genetics also play a significant role in developing these conditions, with an estimated heritability of up to 80 percent. However, study finds stronger associations between a western diet during pregnancy and ADHD in children at high genetic risk, which underlines the importance of both heredity and environment.

Fish, fruit and vegetables, fibrous breakfast cereals, nuts, and beans are listed as the beneficial food groups during pregnancy.

Therefore, the researchers see a potential for targeted dietary interventions during pregnancy to reduce the risk for the child to develop such disorders.