Overweight women may have their mums to blame

Daughters of overweight mothers are more likely to be overweight, according to a study.

Mothers have a huge influence on how much their children run around during the day and what they eat, so those who are sedentary and follow a less healthy diet can pass on these habits.

If mothers were overweight or did not eat a healthy diet during pregnancy, there is some evidence that they could also have “programmed” their child in the womb to be more biologically at risk for obesity.

But now new research suggests these factors only affect daughters and not sons.

Researchers looked at 240 children, whose body mass index (BMI) and fat mass were measured over three visits, when they were four, six to seven years old, and eight to nine years old.

Their mothers and fathers had the same measurements taken on the third visit.

Fathers’ weight and body fat content were not linked to that of their children.

But the more overweight a mother was, the more overweight her daughter was at the ages of six or seven and eight or nine.

Sons may not be affected by their mothers’ obesity in the same way as daughters, because boys tend to be more active in childhood and burn more calories than girls.

A more important factor is probably that girls are more affected by what happens to them in the womb if their mother is overweight.

Women’s fat mass was also linked to their daughters’ fat mass at ages six and seven and eight or nine.

The study concludes that overweight mothers should be aware of the potential effects on their daughters and perhaps try to reach a healthy weight before becoming pregnant.

Dr. Rebecca Moon, from the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Center at the University of Southampton, said: ‘These findings suggest that girls of overweight mothers are at high risk of becoming overweight themselves, which does not appear to be the case for boys.

“We need to do further research to understand why, in terms of families’ dietary and exercise patterns, and how female fetuses in the womb respond to what women eat during pregnancy.”

“This also provides an opportunity to identify young girls who may be at higher risk of developing overweight or obesity so that we can address this early in childhood.”

Previous studies have shown that overweight mothers are more likely to have overweight children, but the difference between girls and boys has generally not been looked at.

The new study not only looked at girls and boys separately, but analyzed children’s body measurements at three ages to capture changes in children’s fat levels, which tend to increase more rapidly from age six.

Researchers have scanned people’s body fat and also calculated their BMI for greater accuracy, as BMI can make muscular people, whose muscles are heavy, look like they are overweight.

Women’s BMI and body fat were not linked to their sons’ BMI or body fat at any age, based on data collected from a health survey conducted in the Southampton area.

But there was an association between BMI and body fat of women and their daughters in old age, which is important because overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults, with a higher risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems.

If women can maintain a healthy weight before becoming pregnant, and keep their young children active and eating well, it can help protect their daughters.

The study is published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.