An overweight pregnancy may increase the child’s risk of developing asthma or respiratory problems during the teenage years, according to a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Researchers reviewed the health records of 7,000 Finnish teenagers, including their mothers’ weight before and during pregnancy. When looking at weight per kilogram by height, the researchers found a significant link between maternal obesity and respiratory problems at age 15 or 16.
The children whose mothers were seriously overweight or even obese were at a 20 to 30 percent increased risk of having or developing a wheeze or asthma. Those whose mothers had been the heaviest were 47 percent more likely to wheeze when compared to their peers, even after taking other factors into consideration.
The study authors note that these findings do not conclusively determine that maternal obesity is the cause of teenage respiratory problems, but other studies have also found connections between a mother’s weight during pregnancy and an infant’s or child’s risk of asthma.
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