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REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1464269
This article is part of the Research Topic Nutrition, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Obstetrics and Gynecology View all 6 articles

Does Maternal Consumption of Nutritive and Non-nutritive Sweeteners Result in Offspring Hypertension?

Provisionally accepted
You-Lin Tain You-Lin Tain *Chien-Ning Hsu Chien-Ning Hsu
  • Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The consumption of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) has increased significantly in recent decades. The nutritional status of pregnant women plays a crucial role in determining the likelihood of their offspring developing hypertension in adulthood. While NNSs provide a sweet taste without adding to sugar intake, emerging evidence suggests that maternal consumption of not only nutritive sweeteners (such as fructose) but also NNS may lead to adverse outcomes in offspring, including hypertension. This review provides an overview of the latest research connecting maternal intake of sweeteners to the long-term risk of hypertension in offspring. We examine proposed mechanisms underlying the programming of offspring hypertension by sweeteners, encompassing oxidative stress, dysregulated nutrient sensing signals, abnormal renin-angiotensin system, transcriptome changes, and dysbiotic gut microbiota. Additionally, we outline preventive strategies that can help alleviate offspring hypertension programmed by maternal diets high in sweeteners.Recent advancements in understanding the mechanisms through which maternal consumption of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners contributes to offspring hypertension offer promise for addressing this widespread health concern at its developmental roots. Nonetheless, further research is needed to educate the public about the safety of sweetener consumption during pregnancy and lactation.

    Keywords: Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), Pregnancy, Sweetener, Hypertension, Fructose, sugar, Sugar-sweetened beverage

    Received: 13 Jul 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Tain and Hsu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: You-Lin Tain, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.