"Eating for two people" during pregnancy threatens children with chronic disease at the age of seven

Women who gain weight during pregnancy are more likely to have children at risk of type 2 diabetes, a new study found.

Many women still believe the myth that they need to "eat two people" during pregnancy, which means about half of them gain weight during the nine months of pregnancy.

The study, conducted on 900 women who gained excess weight during pregnancy, found that they were more likely to have children who developed insulin resistance, a key early sign of two types of diabetes. .

By the age of seven, children were more likely to gain weight and high blood pressure, putting them at risk for heart disease and strokes later in life.

The study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that women who did not maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy had children with high blood pressure and poor blood sugar control at the age of seven.

"We found evidence of a link between weight gain during pregnancy and real risk factors in children that indicated a chance of diabetes, heart disease or stroke, at the age of seven years, independently of the maternal body mass index before pregnancy and the glucose level during Pregnancy ".

These results have significant implications for both prevention and treatment, and "more awareness and weight control are needed during pregnancy."

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arabic.rt