Health

Recipe for a son starts with daily bowl of cereal

by Dave Keating | April 23, 2008 at 02:20 am

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A new study has shown that eating a lot during pregnancy increases the likelihood that a woman will give birth to a son. The scientists can't explain why this might be, but they theorized that thehigh levels of glucose enhance the growth and development of male embryos atthe expense of female embryos.

Breakfasting on Shredded Wheat or cornflakes has been found to increasedramatically a woman’s chances of having sons instead of daughters. Up to 59per cent of women who get pregnant after eating high-energy breakfasts endup giving birth to a son.

By contrast, researchers have found, only 43 per cent of women who alwaysskipped breakfast before conceiving managed to produce boys.

When food consumption is considered across the whole day the pattern isrepeated, with 56 per cent of women eating high-energy food having sons. Ofthe women on low-energy diets, only 45 per cent had boys.

The findings, the first direct evidence that what is on the menu can influencegender, suggest that preoccupation with dieting is increasing the proportionof baby girls.

Scientists said that the discovery of a link between calories and gender mayexplain why it is that in the past 40 years there has been a small butsteady decline in the proportion of boys born in the developed world.