Smoker mothers’ girls likely to be obese

Daughters of women who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to be short and obese as adults.

That’s according to an international study led by the Liggins Institute in Auckland, which found women whose mothers smoked during early pregnancy were 47 per cent more likely to be obese as adults.

Lead investigator Dr Jose´ Derraik, a senior research fellow from the Auckland University-based institute, said it appeared harmful chemicals in cigarettes changed the way babies’ genes were expressed. ‘‘In simple terms, they may turn on or off genes involved in controlling growth.’’

The new study, published this week in Scientific Reports, is the latest in a series by researchers from Liggins Institute in conjunction with Uppsala University in Sweden. They have been analysing data on Swedish women and their children to understand the longterm effects of early life events and conditions that occur before, during and after pregnancy.

Researchers analysed more than

22,000 Swedish women born between

1973-88, at an average age of 26. Forty-two per cent of the women’s mothers reported they smoked at their first antenatal visit (10-12 weeks into pregnancy). The study found the risk of obesity was higher in daughters of mothers who were heavier smokers, compared with those who smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes a day.

Women born to mothers who smoked were 1.1cm shorter and

1.5kg heavier on average in adulthood than those whose mothers did not smoke early in pregnancy.