Understanding the influence of maternal weight and blood glucose on fetal development during pregnancy may help prevent obesity in their children by intervening long before they are born, according to a recent Kaiser Permanente study.
PORTLAND, Ore., May 6 (UPI) -- Excess weight gain during pregnancy and high blood glucose can "imprint" obesity on a child before birth, increasing the likelihood for obesity, according to new research.
Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found the children of women who gained more than 40 pounds or had higher blood sugar during pregnancy are conditioned in the womb to be more inclined to obesity.
While previous studies have shown both weight and blood sugar affect newborn health, and that higher levels of either increase the risk of delivering a heavier baby, the researchers say theirs is the first to link either factor to increased obesity risk in normal weight newborns.
"What we think is happening is the baby is adapting to an overfed environment, either because of high glucose or excess weight gain," Dr. Teresa Hillier, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, told UPI. "Metabolic imprinting, or obesity imprinting, is what we're talking about. We don't really understand why it's happening but we know it's happening."
Studies have started to show obesity can be passed from parent to child, either genetically or through parental health condition -- both from the mother and father -- suggesting intervening as early as possible in pregnancy could help children avoid obesity.
One recent study showed men can pass obesity to their children through sperm, but most studies have focused on maternal diet and health condition.