Bone assessments of the children made up to age 9 years suggested that consuming a healthy maternal diet was associated with greater bone size and density in the offspring.

"Children born to mothers with the healthiest diets, as identified by in the highest quarter of prudent diet score, during late pregnancy had an 11 percent greater whole body bone mineral content and 8 percent great whole body bone area than those born to mothers with the least healthy diet, the lowest quarter of this distribution," Cole said.

"A healthy diet during pregnancy has long lasting effects on the development of the child's bones," Cole said, and this may lower their future risk of osteoporosis, a potentially disabling bone-thinning disease.