According to scientists being overweight during pregnancy can have a negative impact on the development of a child later in life.
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According to scientists being overweight during pregnancy can have a negative impact on the development of a child years later. They discovered reduced motor skills in preschoolers as well as lower intelligence scores in middle childhood for boys whose mothers were critically overweight while expecting them. The researchers found that the consequence was approximately the equivalent of early childhood lead exposure.
The study was done by scientists from Colombia University and the University of Texas at Austin. More than 300 mothers and their kids from comparable neighborhoods and financial position were examined. They were looked at during pregnancy and then later when the children where 3 and 7 years of age. One of the findings at the three years point was a reduction in motor skills for 3-year-old boys that have mothers that were severely overweight during pregnancy. When the group was studied again when the children were seven years of age, the scientists found that boys of obese mothers lacked behind five or more points on full-scale IQ tests. Strangely enough, girls were not affected.
Elizabeth Widen from the University of Texas at Austin stated that one of the remarkable outcomes of the studies was the fact that even using different age-appropriate developmental assessments, they found these associations in both early and middle childhood, meaning the effects persevere over time. She added that the findings aren't meant to shame or frighten anyone as they are just starting to comprehend some of the interactions between mothers' weight and the well-being of their babies.
The researchers advise overweight pregnant women strive for a healthy diet - Image Credit: Universal-Sci - CC BY 4.0
It is not yet apparent why obesity during pregnancy would impact children later down the line. However, past analysis has found links between a mother's diet and cognitive advancement, such as higher intelligence scores in kids whose mothers have more of specific fatty acids found in fish. Widen stated that dietary and behavioral variations may be important factors. But it is also possible that fetal development may be influenced by some of the things that tend to happen in the bodies of people with too much extra weight, such as inflammation, metabolic stress, etc.
The scientists took a lot of variables like ethnicity, the mother's education, and intelligence into consideration. However, factors, like breastfeeding or not breastfeeding as well as what the pregnant mothers ate, were not taken into account. It turns out that the effects on IQ were smaller in nurturing home environments. With regards to 'nurturing environment', scientists looked at aspects like parent-child interaction, whether the child was provided with books and toys, among other things.
The probability of continued effects into adulthood is substantial as childhood IQ is a predictor of education level as well as economic status in later life. The researchers advise overweight pregnant women to see a doctor regularly, look for a well balanced consisting of lots of vegetables, fruits, and fish in addition to taking prenatal vitamins. They also advise physically staying active and giving the child a nurturing home environment with the right stimuli once it's born.
Source and further reading: Prepregnancy obesity is associated with cognitive outcomes in boys in a low-income, multiethnic birth cohort
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