Eating for two? Piling on the pounds during pregnancy can increase risk of diabetes and high blood pressure

RSS Feed

Eating for two? Piling on the pounds during pregnancy can increase risk of diabetes and high blood pressure

May 18th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

By
Jenny Hope

PUBLISHED:

18:22 EST, 17 May 2012

|

UPDATED:

18:22 EST, 17 May 2012

Risks: According to research women who pile on the pounds during pregnancy could risk health issues (picture posed by model)

Pregnant women should watch the calories because eating for two could increase the risk of complications, warn researchers.

They found that mothers who minimised weight gain through a healthy, calorie-controlled diet were less likely to suffer life-threatening pre-eclampsia.

Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London, said helping women with ‘weight management methods’ had no ill-effects on their babies and prevented complications including diabetes, high blood pressure and premature birth.

Controlled diets reduced weight gain during pregnancy by nearly half a stone on average when compared to women who were not given advice.

Their study, published on bmj.com, also claimed that eating for two during pregnancy could leave women saddled with the extra pounds for life.

Around 15 per cent of British women are obese when expecting a child – up from 7 per cent 20 years ago.

Doctors have warned that babies born to overweight women are at greater risk in later life of diabetes and obesity themselves.

Consultant obstetrician Dr Shakila Thangaratinam, who led the study, said: ‘We are seeing more and more women who gain excess weight when they are pregnant.

‘These women and their babies are at increased risk of complications. Weight control is difficult, but this study shows that by carefully advising women on weight management methods, especially diet, we can reduce weight gain during pregnancy.

‘It also shows that following a controlled diet has the potential to reduce the risk of a number of pregnancy complications.

‘Women may be concerned that dieting during pregnancy could have a negative impact on their babies. This research is reassuring because it showed dieting is safe and the baby’s weight isn’t affected.’

In the UK, around a third of women gain more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy. Dr Thangaratinam said that many fail to shed these pounds before embarking on another pregnancy.

Apparently around a third of all women in the UK put on more weight than is recommended during pregnancy

‘They have their second child without managing to lose the weight left from the previous pregnancy, and some women never manage to shift it,’ she said.

The research assessed the results of 44 separate studies using data on more than 7,000 women to investigate the effect of diet, exercise, or a combination of the two on the mother’s weight and risk of problems for mother or child.

In some of the studies, expectant women were restricted to 1,800-2,400 calories a day – the recommended intake for an average woman who is not pregnant is 2,000 calories per day.

The analysis showed that pregnant women who followed a diet were 33 per cent less likely to develop pre-eclampsia, which raises blood pressure and can lead to strokes and even death.

Their risk of gestational diabetes was 60 per cent lower, their risk of gestational high blood pressure was 70 per cent lower and the risk of premature birth was 32 per cent lower.

There have been fears that dieting might lead to a drop in babies’ birthweights, but according to the study it was unaffected.

Jane Brewin, of pregnancy research charity Tommy’s, said: ‘There is growing evidence to re-evaluate current guidelines for weight management during pregnancy.’