More Calories - More Chances To Conceive A Boy

High calorie diet around the time of conception increases the chances to conceive a boy, a study by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford that appears in the Royal Society journal Biological Sciences suggests.

The study involved 740 first-time pregnant mothers in the UK. The women were asked to provide records of their eating habits around the time of conception and during the early stages of pregnancy.

It was found that 56% of women who had high-calorie diet (average intake 2, 413 calories a day) before conception had boys, compared to just 45 % among women who had low energy intake (average intake 2,283 calories a day).

The results of the research also show that women who had boys were more likely to have eaten a higher quantity of nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E, B12. Women who had sons were also more likely to have eaten cereals for breakfast.

The researchers suppose that the modern trend to opt for low calorie diets might be the reason of decrease in the proportion of boys in developed countries. According to some studies there has been a consistent decline of about one per 1,1000 births annually in the proportion of boys being born in developed countries.

The studies have also found a considerable reduction in the average calories intake in the developed world. There is also evidence that today more and more people tend to skip breakfast.

IVF research shows that high levels of glucose encourage the growth and development of male embryos. At the same time high levels of glucose inhibit female embryos. In humans skipping breakfast depresses glucose levels and thus contributes to better environment for development of female embryos.

In humans, skipping breakfast depresses glucose levels and so may be interpreted by the body as indicating poor environmental conditions and low food availability.

With all these findings Dr. Allan Pacey, an expert in fertility at the University of Sheffield urges women "not to start starving themselves in order to try influence the sex of their baby.

"It has been observed in some animal studies that even small changes in female diet can affect the life long health of the offspring, so it is important that the mother has appropriate nutrition at the time of conception and throughout her pregnancy." - the doctor says.