Bounty

Women who put on too much weight when pregnant may increase the chances of their baby struggling with obesity in later life, a study has shown.

The research, whose findings were published online in The Lancet medical journal, found that maternal weight gain during pregnancy increases birth weight independently of genetic factors.

Pregnant women who pile on pounds may be creating conditions in their womb that programme their future child for a lifetime's struggle with weight, the US scientists behind the research said.

They said owing to the apparent association between birth weight and adult weight, obesity prevention efforts targeted at women during pregnancy might be beneficial for offspring.

Dr David Ludwig, one of the US authors, said: "These findings have important implications to general public health.

"It's appropriate for a baby to be born with some fat, but a baby born too fat indicates that the foetus developed in an abnormal environment during the most critical nine months of life."

The new research compared data of several pregnancies in the same mother to establish the association between the two weights existed irrespective of genetic factors.

Copyright Press Association 2010