Childhood Obesity Risk May Begin in the Womb, Study Finds

Mothers may be able to help lower their child’s risk for obesity – before they’re even born.

A new study found that high pregnancy weight gain increases the risk of obesity in those children though age 12. The study, published in the PLoS Medicine by Princeton University, suggests that pregnancy may be a critical time to prevent obesity in the next generation, according to a news release from Princeton University.

“Excessive weight gain during pregnancy could have a significant effect on future obesity among children,” said study author Janet Currie, director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing in the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

“Pregnancy is a good time to target obesity prevention programs, because women may be especially motivated to change their health behaviors,” Currie said.

Researchers have previously observed a familial tendency toward obesity. Children with mothers who are obese or gain too much weight during pregnancy are more likely to be obese themselves. However, this relationship may be due to confounding factors such as shared genes, common environmental influences and socioeconomic and demographic considerations, rather than any direct biological effects of maternal diet, the news release states.

Currie and other colleagues used a novel study design to examine other causes of childhood obesity. They linked the birth records of mothers with two or more children to school records that included the child’s body mass index at an average age of 11.9 years and then made statistical comparisons between siblings.

The current study extends results of an earlier study by Currie and Ludwig, which showed that excessive weight gain in pregnancy increased the birth weight of the infant. The effect of maternal weight gain apparently continues through childhood and accounts for about two to three pounds, between children of women with the least to the most pregnancy weight gain.

“Excessive weight gain during pregnancy could be contributing to the obesity epidemic,” Currie said. “Children whose mothers gained too much weight during pregnancy—that is 40 pounds or more, had an 8 percent increased risk of obesity.”

Source: news release from Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

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