Obesity risk to babies of mums who drink around the time of conception
WOMEN who drink around the time they become pregnant put their baby at much higher risk of becoming fat in later life, a study found.
The children are much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and obesity in early middle age, the researchers said. They found that the equivalent of five alcoholic drinks consumed around the time of conception altered the development of the foetus.
Researcher Dr Karen Moritz, of the University of Queensland in Australia, and her team carried out the tests on rats. She said: ‘Before the egg implants, before any organs start to develop, alcohol consumption somehow causes changes to the embryo.
‘Anything that affects foetal development can cause long-term programming, which means offspring can be born with increased risk and susceptibility to disease later in life.
‘Monitoring the offspring of the laboratory rat model, we found the risk of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes in early middle age dramatically increased.’ The team fed a group of rats a diet that included alcohol from four days before conception until four days after. Others were fed the same food but no alcohol.
Babies born to the first group showed signs of diabetes and obesity at six months old, including raised blood sugar levels and decreased sensitivity to insulin.
For humans this would mean being at a higher risk of the diseases in early middle age, the team said.
Dr Moritz said: ‘The usual risk factors of these two diseases are attributed to poor diet and lack of exercise, but our research showed exposure to alcohol around conception presents a risk similar to following a high-fat diet for a major proportion of life.’
Writing in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers concluded: ‘Given many women may drink alcohol while planning a pregnancy, it is crucial to increase public awareness regarding the effects of alcohol consumption around conception on offspring health.’
‘Causes changes to the embryo’