Mothers who gain too much weight during pregnancy increase their risk of having obese babies, according to a new study presented yesterday (June 7) at the Endocrine Society’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
Researchers at Chicago’s Northwestern University looked at a total of 56 mothers, 31 who stayed within pregnancy weight gain guidelines, and 25 who went over. The women who exceeded the guidelines were more likely to have chubbier babies with an average of 490 grams of body fat, compared to the typical newborn average of 390 grams of body fat.
The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends that normal weight mothers gain between 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy while overweight mothers should gain 15 to 25 pounds.
The study found that the overweight mothers were more likely to exceed the guidelines.
"Excessive weight gain during pregnancy, regardless of pre-pregnancy weight, is an important risk factor for newborn obesity," explained lead researcher Dr. Jami Josefson. "More research is needed to determine if high amounts of fat at birth are associated with high amounts of fat in childhood."