Pregnant Moms & Children's Weight

You’ve probably heard the saying that you are what you eat, but now it looks like what you eat could affect your kids as well.

It looks like what a mother-to-be eats while pregnant can have a big impact on their child’s chances of having weight problems later in life.

For years we’ve been focusing on children’s diet and exercise habits to try and fix the ongoing obesity epidemic. And while these are very important to maintaining a healthy weight, especially in kids, scientists are also starting to focus on what happens in the womb during pregnancy.

A new study found that what a mom eats while pregnant can have a very important impact on a child’s weight---even years later. A poor diet during pregnancy causes what are known as epigenetic changes in a child’s DNA. These changes can cause the fetus to lay down more fat cells and this increase in fat cells can have a lifelong effect not only on a child’s weight but on how he or she will respond to exercise. As a matter of fact, scientists involved in this study were able to “pick”---based on the changes a mom’s diet caused---which kids would be overweight 6 and even 9 years later.

So, in addition to taking enough folic acid, not drinking alcohol and quitting smoking while pregnant, now it looks like one of the best ways to help your child stay healthy later in life is to make sure, as a mom-to-be, you are eating a healthy diet yourself.