Overweight pregnant mothers are statistically more likely to have children with a higher amount of body fat by the time they turn nine years old, research has revealed.

A study, led by Catharine Gale and Professor Cyrus Cooper from the University of Southampton, found that children whose mothers had a higher pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or had fatter upper arms during late pregnancy were significantly more likely to have a higher amount of body fat themselves at the age of nine. Women who smoked during pregnancy also had fatter children, the study discovered. The researchers carried out a whole body scan of 216 nine-year-old children, whose mothers had participated in a study of nutrition during pregnancy.

The study investigated the relationship between maternal size in pregnancy, early growth and body composition at the age of nine years.

Previous research has shown that babies are born with a higher amount of body fat if their mothers are significantly overweight during pregnancy. The latest research indicates that this carries on into childhood, with possible long-term effects for health.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 4:50 am and is filed under Children's Health, In the News, Pregnancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.