New study finds the intrauterine environment may determine whether a child is destined to become obese
Adolescent and young children of obese mothers who underwent weight-loss surgery prior to pregnancy have been found to have a lower prevalence of obesity and significantly improved cardio-metabolic markers when compared to siblings born before the same obese mothers had weight-loss surgery. This new study has been accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Obesity can lead to insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease and pregnancy complications and is a major contributor to causes of death in industrialized nations. Previous studies of obese pregnant women have shown that obesity and its co-morbidities can be transmitted to their children, which indicates that the intrauterine environment may determine whether a child at birth is already destined to become obese.
"Our study confirms previous research showing that the intrauterine environment may be more important than genes and the post-natal environment when it comes to the association between maternal obesity and childhood obesity," said John Kral, MD, PhD, of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. and co-author of the study. "Any medical or surgical treatment to reduce obesity and existing metabolic disorders before pregnancy can be an investment in the life of future offspring."
Weight-loss surgery limits the amount of food a person can consume. Some of these operations also restrict the amount of food that can be digested. This particular study focused on women who had undergone biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) prior to becoming pregnant. BPD changes the normal process of digestion by making the stomach smaller and directing food to bypass part of the small intestine resulting in fewer calorie absorption.