A study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine has linked maternal obesity to an increased risk of behavioural problems in male children. In this study data from the 1979 and 1986 U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used. They also assessed whether the effect of maternal weight on childhood behavioural problems was affected by race or gender of the child. In...Read More
A new study, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, has suggested that infants with a high birthweight are more likely to become obese children. The study itself examined the data of 10,186 children born both prematurely and at term. The findings were consistent for both sets of children. It was found that children born with a high birthweight (described as >10lb) were 69% more...Read More
A study, from the University of California in San Francisco, has found that immune cells within the brain, known as microglia, could be responsible for weight gain caused by overeating. It has been known for some time that the hypothalamus contains neurons that regulate food intake and energy expenditure; in this study the researchers fed mice a high fat diet which is known to cause an...Read More
Preschool children can spend up to 12 hours a day in sedentary time, which can include watching television, playing electronic games and reading. Few preschool children are meeting the current recommendations of less than 1 hour of screen time per day, and are spending large amounts of time engaging in screen time. According to new research, children who have a TV in their bedroom at the age...Read More
In the UK, approximately 20% of pregnant women are obese and 2% have very severe obesity (BMI) ≥40 kg/m2.
According to a recent study, attendance at a specialised antenatal clinic for obesity was associated with reduced rates of stillbirth and low birthweight. It was also associated with improved detection of gestational diabetes.
The improvement in clinical outcomes was associated with an...Read More
A major study has found that women who are obese when they conceive are more likely to have a baby with serious birth defects.
Risks of any major congenital malformation and several subgroups of organ specific malformations progressively increased with maternal overweight and increasing severity of obesity.
The study concluded that for women who are planning a pregnancy, efforts should be...Read More
A new study has found that globally more than 2 billion children and adults suffer from health problems related to being overweight or obese.
In 2015, of the 4 million deaths attributed to excess weight, nearly 40% occurred in people who had a body mass index that fell below the threshold considered ‘obese’.
According to authors of the paper in The New England Journal of Medicine, the findings...Read More