Moms' obesity in pregnancy is linked to lag in sons' development and IQ

December 23, 2019

Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

A mother's obesity in pregnancy can affect her child's development years down the road, according to researchers who found lagging motor skills in preschoolers and lower IQ in middle childhood for boys whose mothers were severely overweight while pregnant. A team of epidemiologists, nutritionists and environmental health researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Texas at Austin and found that the differences are comparable to the impact of lead exposure in early childhood. The findings are published in BMC Pediatrics.

The researchers studied 368 mothers and their children, all from similar economic circumstances and neighborhoods, during pregnancy and when the children were 3 and 7 years of age. At age 3, the researchers measured the children's motor skills and found that maternal obesity during pregnancy was strongly associated with lower motor skills in boys. At age 7, they again measured the children and found that the boys whose mothers were overweight or obese in pregnancy had scores 5 or more points lower on full-scale IQ tests, compared to boys whose mothers had been at a normal weight. No effect was found in the girls.

"What's striking is, even using different age-appropriate developmental assessments, we found these associations in both early and middle childhood, meaning these effects persist over time," said Elizabeth Widen, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UT Austin and a co-author. "These findings aren't meant to shame or scare anyone. We are just beginning to understand some of these interactions between mothers' weight and the health of their babies."

It is not altogether clear why obesity in pregnancy would affect a child later, though previous research has found links between a mother's diet and cognitive development, such as higher IQ scores in kids whose mothers have more of certain fatty acids found in fish. Dietary and behavioral differences may be driving factors, or fetal development may be affected by some of the things that tend to happen in the bodies of people with a lot of extra weight, such as inflammation, metabolic stress, hormonal disruptions and high amounts of insulin and glucose.

The researchers controlled for several factors in their analysis, including race and ethnicity, marital status, the mother's education and IQ, as well as whether the children were born prematurely or exposed to environmental toxic chemicals like air pollution. What the pregnant mothers ate or whether they breastfed were not included in the analysis.

The team also examined and accounted for the nurturing environment in a child's home, looking at how parents interacted with their children and if the child was provided with books and toys. A nurturing home environment was found to lessen the negative effects of obesity.

According to Widen and senior author Andrew Rundle, DrPH, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, while the results showed that the effect on IQ was smaller in nurturing home environments, it was still there.

This is not the first study to find that boys appear to be more vulnerable in utero. Earlier research found lower performance IQ in boys but not girls whose mothers were exposed to lead, and a 2019 study suggested boys whose moms had fluoride in pregnancy scored lower on an IQ assessment.

Because childhood IQ is a predictor of education level, socio-economic status and professional success later in life, researchers say there is potential for impacts to last into adulthood.

The research team advised women who are obese or overweight when they become pregnant to eat a well-balanced diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, take a prenatal vitamin, stay active and make sure to get enough fatty acids such as the kind found in fish oil. Giving children a nurturing home environment also matters, as does seeing a doctor regularly, including during pregnancy to discuss weight gain. Working with your doctor and talking about what is appropriate for your circumstances are recommended.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191223122808.htm

Being teased about weight linked to more weight gain among children

May 30, 2019

Science Daily/NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Youth who said they were teased or ridiculed about their weight increased their body mass by 33 percent more each year, compared to a similar group who had not been teased, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings appear to contradict the belief that such teasing might motivate youth to change their behavior and attempt to lose weight. The study was conducted by Natasha A. Schvey, Ph.D., of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, and colleagues at NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It appears in Pediatric Obesity.

The study involved 110 youth who were an average of 11.8 years of age when they enrolled. The participants were either overweight (defined as a body mass index above the 85th percentile) when they began the study or had two parents who were overweight or obese. At enrollment, they completed a six-item questionnaire on whether they had been teased about their weight. They then participated in annual followup visits for the next 15 years.

The researchers found that youth experiencing high levels of teasing gained an average of .20 kg (.44 lbs) per year more than those who did not. The authors theorize that weight-associated stigma may have made youths more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as binge eating and avoiding exercise. Another possible explanation is that the stress of being teased could stimulate the release of the hormone cortisol, which may lead to weight gain.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190530101213.htm

Babies of overweight mothers may risk developing self-regulation problems

October 10, 2018

Science Daily/Springer

A mother's weight during early pregnancy may affect how well her baby is able to self-regulate during its first months and years of life. This is according to a study of more than 3100 Finnish women.

Previous research has found that one in every five infants struggles to self-regulate in the first year of life. This means that these babies may cry excessively, have problems feeding or difficulties falling asleep unless soothed by a caregiver. As they grow older, such children often show behavioural and neurodevelopmental problems such as hyperactivity or difficulties concentrating, as well as having poorer muscle function. Some have lower IQs or are placed on the autism spectrum.

The aim of this study was to find out whether a mother's weight during early pregnancy influences her child's neurodevelopment. Girchenko and her colleagues drew on data from 3117 women from different Finnish towns who had given birth between 2006 and 2010. All participants were part of the Prediction and Prevention of Pre-eclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) study.

Medical data was gathered about the mothers' weight during the first few months of their pregnancies, and whether they suffered from high blood pressure or gestational diabetes during this period. Up to three months after delivery, the women then answered questions about their babies' ability to regulate and calm themselves. Follow-up assessments of the children's developmental milestones were conducted between 2011 and 2012.

In general, the participants who were overweight or obese tended to be older mothers and to deliver their babies through a caesarean section. They were also less likely to have a tertiary education and quite often decided to stop smoking when they first heard that they were pregnant.

By the age of 17 days, infants of mothers who were overweight were already found to struggle more often with regulatory behaviour problems. In fact, there was a 22 per cent higher chance that overweight or obese mothers would have children with multiple self-regulatory problems. The research team confirmed that weight was the significant factor, and not whether a mother suffered from high blood pressure or gestational diabetes.

"Our findings show that regulatory behavior problems in infancy have prenatal origins that can be attributed at least partially to mothers being overweight or obesity," explains Girchenko. "We suggest that the prevention of weight problems in women of childbearing age may benefit their later offspring and could reduce the burden of regulatory problems in infancy and prevent their long-term neurodevelopmental consequences."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181010105634.htm