Once again a study shows that exercising during pregnancy is not only beneficial for the expectant mom; it also impacts on the future health of the baby.
A new study being published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism states that women who exercise regularly throughout their pregnant will have a baby with a smaller birth weight.
Dr. Paul Hofman works at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and is co-author of the study. He says, "Our findings show that regular aerobic exercise alters the maternal environment in some way that has an impact on nutrient stimulation of fetal growth, resulting in a reduction in offspring birth weight."
He goes on to write, "Given that large birth size is associated with an increased risk of obesity, a modest reduction in birth weight may have long-term health benefits for offspring by lowering this risk in later life."
84 women participated in the research study. Half trained 40 minutes per week on a stationary bike up to 36 weeks and the other half did not exercise. The first group of women gave birth to babies who were 49 to 237 grams lighter than babies born to the second group.
It should be noted that between the late 1970s and 2004, the rate of overweight children aged 2 to 17 years increased from 3 to 8%. In adults, obesity rates increased from 14 to 23% over that same period.