Pregnant women need to reconsider ‘eating for two’ according to study which finds link between weight gain and diabetes and obesity in children
- International study by Chinese University in Hong Kong finds even mild increase of glucose in expectant mothers raises risks
- Findings mean even though diabetes is non-communicable disease, risk can be transmitted from mother to child, researchers say
Children face a greater risk of diabetes and obesity if their mothers gain too much or too little weight during pregnancy, according to researchers at a Hong Kong university.
The international study, by Chinese University (CUHK), found even a mild elevation of glucose in expectant mothers was associated with an excess birthweight and increased chance of pregnancy complications. It followed research on 800 pairs of Hong Kong mothers and children for 11 years, part of a broader Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome study involving 25,000 pregnant women from 15 centres worldwide.
The study also dismissed the idea of “eating for two”, said Professor Tam Wing-hung of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, explaining there was a U-shaped relationship between a pregnant mother’s weight gain and cardiovascular risks in offspring.
“Gaining too much or too little weight will both result in health problems, such as high blood pressure and poorer blood sugar control for children,” Tam said.
Professor Ronald Ma Ching-wan, a specialist in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, said they found that even in children born to mothers who had only a mild elevation of glucose – a condition called gestational diabetes – they were already three times more likely to have either elevated glucose or diabetes by the age of seven.
“By the age of 11, children born to mothers with gestational diabetes had a 50 per cent higher chance of being obese,” Ma said.
