‘Autism risk’ for babies of obese mums

PREGNANT women who are overweight before they conceive run a 65 per cent greater risk of having a baby with autism, research suggests.

A study presented at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago looked at nearly 36,500 mothers.

Lead author, Associate Professor Geum Joon Cho, from Northwestern University in Illinois, said: “Children of mothers with a waist of 31 inches or more before pregnancy showed a 65 per cent increase in risk of autism compared with those born to a mother with a smaller waist.

“Waist circumference is the best way to measure visceral fat – body fat stored in the abdominal cavity and therefore around a number of important organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines.

“Of the environmental risk factors, emerging evidence has linked maternal pre-pregnancy obesity to the risk of autism in offspring.”

The researchers reviewed data for 36,451 mothers who delivered a single live infant between 2007 and 2008. The babies were followed up to see if they developed autism. The researchers found that 265 in the study had been diagnosed with autism.

Obesity defined by body mass index (BMI) alone was not associated with an increased risk of autism.

Prof Cho concluded: “Findings suggest the need for clinicians to monitor for maternal obesity – based on waist circumference – to minimise the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.”