A new research review says too much fish in the diet of pregnant women can lead to an increased chance their children will become obese later in life, according to an article on Fox News.

Lead study author, Dr. Leda Chatzi, of the University of Crete in Greece, said pregnant women consuming more than the recommended three servings of fish per week, could face an increased risk of having children that grow rapidly and become obese during childhood.    The findings in the study also suggest the possibility of pollutants in the fish could also contribute to childhood obesity, possibly by interfering with the hormone system development while the babies are in the womb.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have encouraged women to limit the consumption of fish to no more than three servings per week, primarily due to possible mercury contamination in the fish.  Mercury has been linked to damage of the nervous, digestive and immune systems, as well as lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.

The study authors say women should not avoid fish in their diets altogether, however, because fish is a source of protein, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids, that are important to overall health.  Dr. Chatzi said their study indicates women should follow the current guidelines for consumption of fish, adding women should vary the types of fish they eat, and perhaps avoid large predatory fish, like swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tile fish.  Dr. Chatzi continues to say some of those varieties are more likely to contain harmful pollutants.

The research involved reviewing the data from 15 earlier studies, which involved over 26,000 pregnant women and their children, monitoring the children until the age of six.  The studies collected data from people living in several European countries and in the state of Massachusetts, in the US.

While fish consumption varies widely across the different countries, comparisons of women who ate fish more frequently had a 22 percent increased risk of unusually rapid growth than their counterparts who rarely ate fish while pregnant.  Also, the children of women eating a lot of fish were 14 percent more likely to be overweight or obese by the age of four, and 22 percent more likely to have excess  pounds by the age of six.  The effect was more pronounced on girl children than boy children.

The research, which can be found in JAMA Pediatrics, was somewhat limited because the data relied on women to record what they ate, which may not have been totally accurate, and the authors cautions the findings only show an association, and not that the consumption of fish is the direct cause of obesity in children.