Diet of Pregnant Women Can Produce Obese or Overweight Offspring

A recent study conducted by the Univeristy of Cincinnati cites that pregnant women ought to consider their high-fat food choices. The study discovered that when female mice were fed high fat diets they were more likely to give birth to oversized offspring (a risk factor for being an overweight or obese adult) as too much fat makes the placenta to go into “overdrive” by providing extra nutrients to the foetus.
The opposite is also true: a high fat diet can help prevent underweight babies .
The aim of the medics involved in this research is to use the findings for dietary recommendations for mothers who are considering pregnancy either obese or overweight. The objectives of the medics is to lower the number of babies who suffer from C-section rates, reduce the number of birth injuries and lower the risk of babies getting overweight or obese later in life.
The research involved feeding a group of mice a normal diet, whilst another group of mice were fed a higher fat diet for a period of eight weeks. The mice then mated. The baby mice were then delivered by csection and weighed with their placentas. The researchers then took blood from the mother mice and measured the placenta’s ability to transport nutrients to the babies.
It is a known medical fact that big women give birth to big babies. However, there is more going on than genetics. Eating fewer fatty foods during pregnancy may lower the possibility of giving birth to a baby that becomes overweight in the long term.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirm that a third of American adult men and women, as well as 16% of youth and children are obese. Obesity heightens the risk of various health conditions and diseases like: type 2 diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, high cholesterol, gallbladder disease, sleeping and respiratory difficulties, as well as certain cancers.