Overweight Babies Connected To Lack Of Exercise In Mothers

large babies were reduced by 25 when exercise was done 3 times weekly

Just because you are pregnant does not mean that you should stop exercising completely according to researchers who say they have evidence that regular exercise during a pregnancy term can reduce the likelihood of you having an overweight child.

The researchers headed by Professor Katrine Mari Owe said that their study showed that the chances of a child being born overweight which they classified as above 8lbs and 13oz was reduced by 25 percent when exercise was done three times weekly. This statistic applied to first-time pregnancies only but the researchers did note that while the link was also present in mothers who had subsequent children it was not statistically significant.

The researchers got the evidence from looking at information collected from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study which covered almost 37,000 pregnancies and also from newborn birth weight data compiled by the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.

The researchers speculated that the reason for the lower risk of excessive birth weight among exercisers was linked to the positive impact of aerobic exercise on glucose tolerance. Other studies have highlighted a link between moderate physical activity when pregnant and lowered glucose levels for not only healthy females but also those women who suffer from diabetes.

Ukmedix News has seen loads of research which shows the importance of diet and gentle regular exercise for healthy and normal birth weight children. Expectant mothers should pay a lot of attention to what they eat and consult a nutritionist is there are unsure of what they should be eating. Unhealthy lifestyles during pregnancy have been connected to a risk of not only unhealthy babies at birth but also a greater risk of illnesses later on in life.

This research project was published in full by the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.