Eating Little during Pregnancy Increases Obesity Risk in Child

Pregnant women who eat little are at risk of obesity problems in their children, just as they would if they ate too much. American researchers have found that an expectant mother’s diet needs to be taken very seriously.

The children born to women who did not gain enough weight during pregnancy face almost the same risk of obesity as the children from women who gained too much weight. It is surprising, but the mothers whose weight at the start of pregnancy was normal, risk even more. Given the fact that obesity takes away an average of 9 years of life, causes a variety of severe illnesses, the prevention of this disorder should be started as early as possible.

American researchers from Kaiser Permanante company monitored the health and diet of more than 4,000 pregnant women and their children. Overall, 20.4 % of boys and girls born to women who gained too much weight during pregnancy had weight problems. 19.5% of children born to women who did not gain the recommended weight faced exactly the same problem.

The worst situation was with the women who had normal weight at the beginning of pregnancy. If they ate too much later, the risk of obesity in their unborn children grew by 80% compared with those who ate correctly. In addition, if a woman of normal weight ate too little during pregnancy, the risk of excess weight and obesity in their child increased by 63%.

These figures show once again how important the diet of a pregnant women is, and how important it is to consume the recommended amount of calories, without over- and undereating.