Eating for two in pregnancy ‘makes your child obese’

Doctors warn of lifelong impact on health

WOMEN who ‘eat for two’ during pregnancy could leave their unborn child struggling with obesity years later.

The more weight a mother-to-be gains, the higher the odds of her child being obese by the age of eight, researchers said yesterday.

With fat children likely to become fat adults, and obesity taking up to nine years off life and raising the risk of serious illness, the finding emphasises the need to eat healthily in pregnancy.

British doctors said the idea that pregnant women needed to eat for two was a myth, and accused the Health Service of ‘taking its eye off the ball’ by abandoning the regular weigh-ins that used to be carried out in pregnancy.

In the latest study, Greek and US researchers asked the mothers of more than 5,000 eight-year- olds how much weight they had gained and whether they had exercised or smoked while they were pregnant.

The average woman gained 2st 3lb, with some putting on just 11lb and others up to 7st.

Analysis showed a clear link between the amount of weight put on in pregnancy and the child’s odds of being obese eight years later.

Smoking and not taking exercise also increased the chances of the child being fat.

Writing in the journal BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, the researchers did not say why weight gain during pregnancy could create a legacy of obesity.

Possible reasons include the mother and child sharing ‘obesity genes’ or the same bad diet and exercise habits.

It is also thought that conditions in the womb could have long-lasting consequences for the unborn child’s appetite control or storage of fat.

Researcher Professor Labros Sidossis, of the University of Texas, said: ‘Pregnancy is a phase in a woman’s life in which she develops a greater awareness about her health and has an important opportunity to amend some unhealthy habits, like smoking and alcohol consumption, to adopt a more active lifestyle, and to participate in physical activities and exercise.

‘ Healthcare professionals should advise expecting mothers to limit their pregnancy weight gain to the recommended range, not to smoke and consume alcohol and to engage in moderate exercise during pregnancy.’

Professor Dib Datta, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said a bad diet and high weight gain in pregnancy could lead to an increased risk of diabetes and a more dangerous labour.

He said Britain had ‘taken its eye off the ball’ by dropping the regular weighing of pregnant women. Today, a woman is only put on the scales when she is newly pregnant, while in the past she was weighed as often as every two weeks during pregnancy.

The average woman should aim to gain between 13 and 17.5lb while pregnant, he said, and although it was once feared that exercise would harm the unborn baby, it is now seen as the healthy option. Most women should be able to swim for 20 minutes or walk for half an hour, five days a week, until quite late into their pregnancy.

Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation, urged the NHS to produce advice on how much weight pregnant women can safely put on, as the US does. At the moment, the Health Service simply states that weight gain in pregnancy ‘ varies greatly’, with most women putting on 22lb to 26lb.

However, it does warn British mothers-to-be against eating for two.

Guidelines say they do not need to increase their calorie intake until the last three months, and even then, they only need an extra 200 calories a day – the equivalent of a small sandwich.

‘Chance to amend unhealthy habits’