Mums: Keep fit so baby stays slim

WOMEN can protect their baby from obesity before they are born by exercising while pregnant, research has found.

The study – the first to encourage pregnant women who are not overweight to exercise – found that keeping fit helps boost a child’s metabolic health.

US researchers tested the theory on mice and discovered youngsters were less likely to gain weight throughout adolescence if their mother regularly exercised during pregnancy.

Study author Jun Seok Son, of Washington State University, said: ‘Our data suggest that the lack of exercise in healthy women during pregnancy can predispose their children to obesity.’

The experts examined the babies of mice that completed an hour of low intensity exercise a day compared with the offspring of mice that did not. At weaning, the babies of active mothers had increased levels of a protein linked to converting fat to heat, and after eight weeks they had gained less weight.