Two factors at birth can increase a child's risk of obesity

TUESDAY, Nov. 13, 2018 (HealthDay News) – New research shows that children who are born tall and whose mothers have developed some form of diabetes during pregnancy are almost three times more likely to become obese or obese as children.

"Just like smoking, drinking alcohol and other lifestyle choices, [women’s] weight before pregnancy, and weight gain and blood glucose control during pregnancy could have a significant impact on the future health of their children, "said a Canadian team led by Dr. Padma Kaul of the University from Alberta, to Edmonton.

An American expert was not surprised by the results.

"A healthy pregnancy begins well before the patient is pregnant," said Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician / gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. "During pregnancy, patients and doctors can work together to achieve ideal weight gain."

The new study looked at more than 81,000 children born to mothers in the Canadian province of Alberta. The weight of each child was checked during their pre-school vaccination visits, between 4 and 6 years old.

Overweight / obesity rates were 43% in children above average at birth and whose mothers developed diabetes during pregnancy (a condition called gestational diabetes). This compares to only 21% for children of average height at birth and whose mothers did not have gestational diabetes.

This means that the first group of children was about 2.8 times more likely to be overweight or obese than the second group of children, according to the study published November 13 in the newspaper diabetology.

The rates of overweight / obesity were also higher among children born fat and whose mothers had "normal" diabetes before their pregnancy (36%), showed the results. Even without a maternal history of diabetes, however, 35% of grandchildren were still overweight or obese at the time of vaccination.

In fact, being a relatively large size at birth would contribute 39% to the risk of obesity in a child – far more than having a mother with only gestational diabetes (16% ) or pre-existing diabetes (15%), said Kaul's group.

Dr. Mitchell Kramer is head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Huntington Hospital of Northwell Health in Huntington, New York. In reviewing the new findings, he acknowledged that baby's birth weight is "a potentially modifiable factor".

Kramer said that some things – the weight of the expectant mother, the control of her blood sugar level during pregnancy and the weight she takes during pregnancy – could play a role in reducing the risk to her. their children.

"It should also be noted that badfeeding during the first five months of life was badociated with a 25% lower likelihood of overweight / obesity in children," Kramer said.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about overweight and obesity in children.