The article is devoted to Kate’s happy marriage with Prince William. The duchess also jokes about the boom of the news around her pseudopregnancy.

The public is very concerned about the health of the heir’s to the British crown future mother. Before the wedding, Kate Middleton used to have the British 10th size, but the tedious preparation for the wedding and all the experiences have contributed to her rapid weight loss. Now Kate is wearing size 6. The supporters of the Duchess are seriously worried whether the 30-year-old Kate is able to give birth to a healthy baby.

A source in the British media reports that Kate is actively involved in sports in order to “build muscle”, after she was criticized for being too thin in her arms and legs. They say that at school Kate was much mocked at because of her being skinny, and that is why Kate is still incredibly shy.

This is the conclusion made by Australian researchers from the Ramsay Health Care medical center after conducting a special study published in the Obstetrics & Gynecology journal.

As recommended by the US Institute of Medicine, the women with normal body weight should gain 11-15 kg during the period of pregnancy, the women with excess weight – 7-11 kg, and obese women – 9.5 kg.

However, for many pregnant women with evident signs of obesity it is useful to get rid of extra pounds rather than to gain weight during this period. This will not harm their health and the health of the child and will also reduce the risk of possible complications during pregnancy, such as diabetes and hypertension, associated with overweight.

The researchers have analyzed the data from four randomized clinical trials in which 537 pregnant women received advice on healthy eating and were told to keep daily records and count their calories. It was found that the pregnant women, who took care of their diet and controlled body weight, gained 6.4 kg less weight on average, compared with those, who did not. Also it has been revealed that a decrease in body weight during pregnancy causes no harm to the health of children.

According to Dr. Raul Artal, head of the department of obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, women with obesity can maintain body weight during pregnancy, or even lose up to 4 kg, without any damage to their health and that of a child.

The scientists do not advise pregnant women to have a strict diet. Instead, they recommend to consult a doctor and find the right diet and physical activity level.

Pregnancy is the perfect time to start a healthy lifestyle and approach healthy weight!

She had been through it three times already when her sons Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 6, were born. The former Spice Girl got down to Pilates and algae wraps that were reported to do wonders for her, supposedly making her drop 2 lb and more during a session.

The very first time, after the birth of Brooklyn, she was losing her baby weight so fast that it gave rise to a serious concern over her health; she even used to call herself a “Skeletal Spice.” She was eating as she always had, but she was feeling queer.

Afterwards she managed it much easier, and now she is hard at performing her personal miracle for the fourth time, when many mothers would have quitted the fight for their waistlines.

So, when the much expected Harper Seven was born last month and Victoria found herself with extra 1 st 7 lb, she braced herself for regaining her before-the-birth stomach – and this time with a tough deadline. Grazia reports that – while the champion husband can often be seen around in the company of the boys – Mrs. Beckham retreated to a rented spacious Malibu mansion from which she intends to appear in size zero. It is rumored she is employing the new “Five Hands” diet which means she will be eating but five handfuls of food every day until the beginning of September at the least.

As is known from a source, the British celeb takes tiny bits of prawns with chilli, yellow-fin tuna sushi, smoked salmon, and scrambled eggs. Her regime is the strictest possible, sugar is a no-no these days.

Wishing to look her best for the New York Fashion Week, the mag reports, she settled with five high-protein meals enhanced with green vegetables on the fifth day after the birth. At times she allows herself to enjoy some nuts and goji berries, washing it down with nothing but water.

Victoria had been urged not to go for vigorous workouts for a couple of month after her caesarean, so she is taking it easy outside at the beach rental owned by Stephen Spielberg that costs them £93,000 per month, getting her body ready for her normal gym exercising schedule. She is going to train with Tracy Anderson in a matter of weeks, but now it is 10 minutes of Pilates and some ordinary post-natal workout.

We have every reason to believe that at the exhibition of her spring 2012 Victoria Beckham collection in New York the famous fashion designer will show no signs of her recent pregnancy – Mrs. Beckham knows how to do it!

Source of the image: Ibtimes.

Obesity Stats

The problem of obesity cannot be called purely American. “The epidemic of overweight” has embraced not only the USA, but Europe and Asia as well. 38% of European children aged 5 to 18 are overweight, and in China 20% of children suffer from excess pounds.

The saddest statistics still comes from the homeland of fast food: every other American child has a problem with overweight. If previously 50% of the population suffered from excess weight, the figure has now risen to 68%. The doctors are especially frightened by the fact that 17% of children older than 2 years suffer from obesity.

In China, the problem of excess weight has become especially acute after the introduction of the “one family – one child” policy. Together with the increasing income of the population, the number of children with the “little emperor” syndrome is also growing. They lead a sedentary life, spending all their time at the computer with a delicious meal.

How to Treat Obesity in Children?

Different countries have different methods of fighting against excess weight. In the UK, all children of pre-school age are prescribed physical education classes. China has created “diet” camps for children who are overweight. Guides and former military people force the children to be engaged in intensive physical training.

How to Treat Obesity the Radical Way?

But the staff at the Harvard School of Public Health believe that only stress will lead to the desirable result. The scientists have called termination of parental rights the most effective way of struggling with childhood obesity. School activists believe that temporary withdrawal of children from families would benefit all. On the one hand, the child will probably try to lose weight and get back home, and on the other hand, this will make the parents seriously change their lifestyle.

The experts support their opinion with evidence. Their theory has been tested on a girl suffering from obesity. The parents could not provide her with a balanced diet, and the child was sent to a foster family. A year later, she lost 52 kilos and was able to return to her parents.

It is quite clear that this initiative has ardent opponents. Art Caplan, the biologist of the University of Pennsylvania, contradicts the scientists from the Harvard School and believes that one just needs to change the culture of food consumption. Separating the child and the parents can be justified only in one case – if the child is in mortal danger.

What Causes Obesity?

Previously it was thought that excess weight is only present in the countries with high incomes. However, now there is a sharply increasing number of overweight people in the countries with low living standards.

• food intake exceeds energy expenditure;
• disturbances in the systems of the pancreas, liver, small and large intestines;
• genetic disorders.

What Contributes to Obesity?

• sedentary lifestyle;
• consuming simple (easily digestible) carbohydrates, such as sugar, pastries, and cakes;
• endocrine disorders (hypogonadism, hypothyroidism, insulinoma);
• being prone to stress;
• lack of sleep.

Source of the image: Photl.

Though her fans know that on January 6 (all right, a little more than 3 months ago!), she gave birth to son Flynn by her husband Orlando Bloom, on Sunday in Malibu, at a Vitoria’s Secret photo session, she looked resplendent in a black two-piece bikini that wasn’t meant to hide much of her hot body.

UsWeekly sure wanted to know how she managed to regain her great figure in so short a time. The Australian model, 27, believes it’s due to breastfeeding.

Kerr and Bloom’s own Flynn was born a big boy of nearly 10 pounds and picked up another 10 pounds in the first 2 and a half months of his life. So, “he’s a hungry little boy,” says his sexy mother.

The happy model shares that she likes to spend most of her time off work with the baby. Us reported her saying that she enjoyed motherhood anew with every new day, calling it “a miracle” and her brightest experience so far.

Source of the image: Glamourvanity.

Lucia is Oksana’s second child and her first with Mel.

Her other recent creation, album Beautiful Heartbreak, can be gotten through iTunes.

Source of the image: radaronline.com.

As a man’s weight increases so his chances of becoming a father decreases. The researchers studied more than 300 couples undergoing IVF treatment. Dr. Hassan Bakos of the University of Adelaide, Australia, said that as parental body mass index increased, successful pregnancy rates plummeted.

Couples involved in the study were either undergoing IVF treatment or an alternative procedure. Almost 80 percent of male participants were either overweight or obese. The man’s weight played no role at the initial phases when embryo develops. However, by day four of embryo cell division, when genetic factors become important, signs of impaired development were found. The evidence suggests that DNA damage and oxidative stress are to blame, according to Dr. Bakos.

So before planning on pregnancy, both partners have to try to make their weight normal to increase their chance of conceiving a baby.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/asifthebes.

Back in 1980, British Birth Cohort Study involving 6 500 10-year-olds was initiated in England. Child psychologists studied self-esteem of boys and girls, their emotional characteristics and measured their body mass index (BMI).

Twenty-odd years later, the experts set out to analyze BMI and emotional state of at then already grown-up participants. Psychologists compared self-esteem of children and their emotional issues with their weight as grown-ups. They found that children with lower self-esteem, higher anxiety and other emotional issues were more likely to gain excessive weight in adulthood, with women being at a higher risk.

Scientists believe that early psychological support may help improve this problem. It requires the cooperation from parents, however. The reasons for low self-esteem and anxiety in children always lie in the family. It could be strained relationship between spouses, or parental attitude towards children – excessively strict upbringing, repeated humiliation, lack of attention or, on the contrary, a total absence of authority and control.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/lusi.

Canadian scientists decided to study the effect of generally accepted ideas of “perfect body” on the eating behavior of children. According to Bryn Austin, the head of the group of researchers from the Harvard University and the University of Alberta, Canada, they found a clear link between children being dissatisfied with their bodies and increased risk of eating disorders, such as vomiting, starvation, use of laxatives and diet pills.

In order to understand body satisfaction in children and how much it is related to BMI, the scientists studied prevalence of poor body satisfaction in girls and boys and its association with body weight and socioeconomic factors.

Examining the results of the study, Austin noted that poor body satisfaction among boys with low BMI can reflect the cultural ideals of male beauty, with preferences muscularity and leanness. On the other hand, thinness remains the cultural ideal of body shape among girls.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/Mattox.

The woman had several diseases, which were preventing her from conceiving: polycystic ovaries and thyroid gland pathology. She needed to lose weight in order to have IVF. Within a year Rachel dropped over 110 lb (50 kg) and now she weighs 150 lb (68 kg). By the time she was to visit the reproduction center, she realized that she was already pregnant.

Gynecologists remind us, that excess weight is a major cause of infertility. Losing weight increases the chances to conceive.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/christgr.

These children are born with reduced weight and waist circumference, and the possibility of their scaling up weight is three times less to that of their siblings conceived before mom trimmed herself down.

The study also shows that their cardiovascular markers being in a much better shape (that means lower cholesterol levels and reduced insulin resistance), such children are better protected against developing heart disease or diabetes in future.

Therefore slimming through surgery is a scientifically acclaimed means to ensure better health for the coming child.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bies.

Birth size, the study says, is in direct dependence on the development of the nervous system. A smaller child was discovered to be more prone to having breath difficulties during sleep which will lead to disturbed sleep and maybe nightmares in later life.

Lead researcher Anu-Katriina Pesonen is sure about the dependence of good sleep on the weight and length of the child at birth. “We showed that even within children born healthy and at-term gestation, smaller body size at birth increases the risk for poor sleep.”

The birth size of the child is mostly governed by the genetic factor, but the child may be born smaller for several other reasons, including prenatal drinking even in moderate quantities and chronic depression.

No connection between prenatal smoking and sleep disturbances in the child has been discovered.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bonesdog.

Dr. Kathleen Janz, the author of the study, explains that children who are physically active during the pre-school period less often become overweight during school years than those children who are not active. Scientists call it “savings effect”, since children receive the “dividends” from their early activities in the future (similar to the way it works with the savings bank accounts).

The protective effect of physical activities does not depend on how active the child is when he/she is older. Thus, we can conclude that even five-year-olds need to be maximally active, as they will be rewarded for those activities as they get older.

Avoid long periods of inactivity (more than one hour) and make sure to bring your child outside as much as possible. Even ten extra minutes of physical activities per day can make a difference in the future by protecting your child against weight problems.

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/emeryjl.

What Does The Size of Pregnant Belly Depend On?

Belly height, or your fundal height, normally corresponds to a certain stage of pregnancy. For example, on the 32nd week, the fundal height should be about 12-13 inches. On the other hand, the “bigness” of belly depends on individual characteristics of every woman. Sometimes, it depends on how a woman is built. Small women with narrow pelvis have bigger belly than those with voluptuous hips. But what’s more crucial for the size of belly is gaining pregnancy pounds.

How Many Pregnancy Pounds Can You Gain?

Every woman has her own norm. It depends on the body mass index. If you are expecting twins, that adds to your norm about 4-9 pounds. Most women gain 40% of pregnancy pounds within the first half of pregnancy and 60% within the second one. If a woman had normal weight before getting pregnant, she would add 3-4 pounds within the first trimester, gaining one pound per week during the second one and 1-2 pounds during the ninth month. The weight should be increasing evenly and steadily. This ensures the normal fetal growth.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Less than 20

If your BMI before pregnancy was less than 20 (low body weight), then your weight gain during nine months will put you into more than average weight category. Normal weight gain for women with BMI less than 20 is about 28-35 pounds.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Between 20 and 27

If your BMI was between 20 and 27 (normal weight), then the normal weight gains during the pregnancy will be 22-30 pounds.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Less than 27

If your BMI before pregnancy is 27, this indicates excessive weight (27-29 is overweight, more than 29 is obesity). But you shouldn’t try to lose weight during pregnancy. Trying to lose weight during pregnancy may affect the fetal growth in a bad way. So even if you had excessive weight before getting pregnant, you’ll have to add about 15-20 pounds more.

Why Is Excessive Weight Risky?

Excessive pregnancy pounds may lead to health problems both in a woman and her fetus. Uncontrolled weight gain is a symptom for late toxicosis that can cause miscarriage. If this is the case, women would have pains in lower back and lower belly. In severe cases, there can be pre-term birth or premature placental abruption.

Besides, excessive weight makes it hard for muscles to function. It also leads to swellings of legs, belly and arms. The woman will feel pains in back and lower leg muscles as well as will suffer from bad blood circulation in legs and varicose veins. The pregnant woman tends to feel increasingly tired more often and gets irritable. Late toxicosis puts the fetus at the risk of chronic oxygen hunger and even fetal death. Obese women have greater risk of these complications.

Swellings During Pregnancy and Their Prevention

Some women store excessive water in their bodies, for example, due to kidney disorders. So if a pregnant woman gains weight much too quickly, she has to check how much liquid she drinks and excretes during the day. A healthy woman excretes more liquid than she consumes. Liquid build-up in the body leads to weight gain. Apart from outer swellings, this leads to the swelling of internal organs. Placenta swelling is the most dangerous as it interrupts the normal fetal growth.

As a rule, all pregnant women are advised to cut down on salt, spicy, fatty and fried foods. The reason is that this kind of food promotes liquid storage in the body and leads to swellings. On the other hand, you shouldn’t drastically cut down on drinking liquid. Drink not less than 1.2 -1.5 liters per day.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

Women with diabetes are more likely to have bigger fetus and, therefore, gain more weight. If the woman was born big herself, she has to check her sugar levels in blood and urine as diabetes may be latent. Sometimes, diabetes expresses itself right during pregnancy. It can happen because your hormonal profile is changing. Those pregnant women will fall into the risk group, even if increased sugar levels showed off only in one out of several tests.

When Is Excessive Weight Gain More Dangerous?

Excessive weight gain is more dangerous during the second half of pregnancy, specifically from the 20th week. This may lead to late toxicosis. The earlier these complications occur, the more difficult the birth will be. This is why women are encouraged to watch their weight, measure the blood pressure and pass urine tests. Late toxicosis is usually associated with increased blood pressure and protein in urine. If all three symptoms are detected at once – swellings, increased blood pressure and protein in urine – the woman is urgently taken to the hospital.

Expectant mom – and her relatives – should care for her emotional well-being to avoid eating a lot because of stress or, on the contrary, the situation when the pregnant woman can’t eat because she is too nervous.

Average Pregnancy Pounds Distribution

• Fetus – 7-7.5 lbs
• Placenta – 1 lb
• Amniotic fluid – 1-1.5 lbs
• Increased womb –2 lbs
• Mammary glands – 1 lb
• Blood volume – 3 lbs
• Intracellular fluid – 3 lbs
• Fat tissue – 7 lbs

Total: about 26 lbs

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bjearwicke.

Many men claim that they start eating more as a sign of solidarity with their pregnant wives who get upset because of the pregnancy-related high appetite. In addition, many husbands also claim that there are more snacks in the house during those nine months and thus they are constantly tempted to have a snack.

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/rodrigo_siqueira.

According to the experts, increased blood supply promotes movement of the eggs to the ovaries and embryo implantation in the womb.

A previous study showed that weight reduction in obese women increases chances of ovulation by 30-40 per cent. The new study examined the role of blood flow in the process of ovulation and pregnancy for the first time. The specialists believe that a larger study needs to be conducted for a full examination of this point. However, at the moment the scientists are confident that the body weight is linked with the ability to have children and even the smallest weight loss increases the chances of conceiving.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/asifthebes.

Scientists from the German Institute of Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) found the answer to this question. They conducted a study on 250 female volunteers. The medics examined dynamics of weight during pregnancy and after childbirth. As it turns out, women should get worried about the excess weight only if they don’t get back to their normal shape and weight by the time the child is one. Moreover, those women who breastfed and watched their diet returned to their regular weight or even went below it within a year. On the other hand, most women who started to work hard on losing weight within a month after childbirth shortly stopped breastfeeding as well.

It naturally takes 3 to 12 months for a woman to return to her normal weight (the rate of weight reduction depends on the initial state of health and body). If you want to get back to your normal weight then you should start taking care of your diet during pregnancy. Most importantly you need to forget about the stereotype that a pregnant woman should eat for two, as this is a common mistake which leads to overeating and excess weight after childbirth.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/lockstockb.