Fat Mommy, Fat Baby?
A surprising study has found that children born to mothers who previously underwent weight-loss surgery had a smaller rate of obesity than those children born prior to a mother’s weight-loss surgery. Furthermore, the children born later had improved cardio-metabolic markers compared to their older siblings.
In this study, 49 women who had undergone biliopancreatic diversion (gastric bypass) were followed. All of these women had children prior to surgery and all had babies after the surgery. The children born after the mother’s weight loss surgery had lower cholesterol and reduced insulin resistance. These babies were also a smaller birth weight, had a smaller waist size and were three times less likely to become obese as adults.
An eye opener to many, this study demonstrates the connection between a mother’s weight and her baby’s metabolic health. If an obese woman becomes pregnant and delivers, her baby will have a greater chance of becoming obese as an adult and could also have both a higher cholesterol and a greater birth weight. Obese and overweight women are strongly encouraged to lose weight before becoming pregnant. This will not only improve their own health, but the future health of their children.
