Pregnant women are bombarded by advice about gaining too much weight during pregnancy. While there are many good reasons for this advice, it sometimes has an unintended consequence. Women may feel under pressure to avoid gaining weight and some will even diet in an attempt to avoid putting on too much weight. In general, diets are considered a bad idea during pregnancy and a new study has offered additional insight.
The study was conducted at University of Nottingham. Like many studies, this one was conducted using animals, sheep to be exact. The reason is the similar length in gestation to humans and similar course of development of the babies. For the study, some sheep were fed a restricted diet early in the pregnancy and were later allowed to eat and gain as much weight as possible.
What they discovered is the babies born to the mothers fed in this way were more likely to become obese and to experience health problems related to obesity than lambs born to mothers eating the recommended calories throughout pregnancy.
From this information, scientists have determined a similar possible link in human infants. Kids born to mothers who were dieting a lot, particularly in early pregnancy, may be more likely to be overweight and have related health problems.
Further study is needed to verify the link between maternal dieting and obesity in children. These studies are more difficult to conduct using human subjects, due to the health risks associated with dieting during pregnancy. Whether this study holds up to be accurate or not, there are many reasons not to diet during pregnancy. Some of the problems that can occur include malnourishment of baby and mom, low birth weight, and, in extreme cases, even brain damage.
While it may be tempting to limit calories to avoid having to lose the weight later, it is not worth the risk. The best way to control weight gain during pregnancy is to eat a healthy and well balanced diet and get plenty of exercise. Speak to your health care provider about your specific nutritional needs and exercise routine to be sure it is healthy and safe for your unique pregnancy.
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