That's Fit

Moms who followed a "hearty" diet prior to conception are more likely to give birth to boys, according to a recent study. We touched on this here at That's Fit yesterday, but I thought I would go into some of the details I discovered.

The study found that, out of a group of women who followed a high energy diet (which generally included a daily bowl of breakfast cereal) around the time of conception, 56% had sons. Out of the group that took in fewer calories, including moms who skipped breakfast, only 45% had sons. The women in the first group not only consumed more calories, but but took in a large variety of nutrients.

Not everybody is sold on this theory, but there are some valid points to back up the findings.

Critics are quite skeptical of the findings, saying that they go against some of the basics of human genetics -- the fact that the sex is determined by the father's sperm -- and going on to say, "A correlation does not make the truth."

Aside from the study, there is some other evidence to suggest that the mother's diet could have some bearing on her baby's sex -- many animals, such as horses and cows, produce more males when food is plentiful. Additionally, the trend over the last 40 years or so has been a decline in baby boys as many young women opt for low-calorie diets (or, at least, low-nutrition).

While a strong connection was made between cereal and baby boys, there's a lot more to this science than Wheaties, and I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more discussion on the topic.