London, June 2 (IANS) A new study has revealed that piling in pounds can increase a child’s risk of developing risk of heart disease in later life.
The findings revealed that women who put on the most weight had less heart-healthy children at the age of nine. These children were heavier, had bigger waists, more body fat and lower blood levels of ‘good’ cholesterol.
‘Our research show that perhaps even more important than the weight gained in pregnancy is how much a woman weighs before she gets pregnant,’ dailymail.co.uk quoted co-author Dr Abigail Fraser, from the Medical Research Council’s centre at Bristol University, as saying.
‘We know from previous findings that obese women face more complications in pregnancy and giving birth. Now it’s clear that those who put on the most weight during the nine months risk their children having less good health outcomes several years later,’ Fraser added.
Co-author Professor Debbie Lawlor added: ‘What the ideal weight gain is in pregnancy is a much-debated question and at the moment we don’t know the answer. This is because pregnancy weight gain is complex and reflects how the baby is growing and how much weight the mother has put on.
