Mothers 'programme' babies to be obese in womb with diet
LYNDSAY MOSS HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
SCOTTISH babies are "programmed" to become fat while still in the womb due to women's poor diets, research suggests.
A study looking at the growth of 12,900 infants found that Scottish babies weighed more at birth and at nine months than those in the rest of the UK.
The researchers suggested that babies' genes could be "hard-wired" before birth, making them more likely to be overweight or obese in later life.
Experts said greater efforts were needed to educate pregnant women about their diet.
But they said genes were likely to play only a small part in the obesity problem, along with factors such as exercise.
The researchers, from Kings College London and University College London, found that at birth Scots babies weighed an average of 7.7lb. This compared to 7.6lb in Northern Ireland and England and 7.5lb in Wales.
By the age of nine months, Scottish infants still weighed more - 20lb compared to 19.8lb in Wales, 19.7lb in England and 19.6lb in Northern Ireland.
The researchers, writing in the International Journal of Obesity, said the differences could not be explained by factors such as being bottle or breast-fed, social class, smoking or the weight and height of parents.
They said it could be that babies were "programmed" to be fat in the womb due to their mothers' poor diets.
Figures show that a third of 12-year-olds in Scotland are overweight and a fifth are obese.
Professor Steve Bloom, an obesity expert at Imperial College London, said it was likely genes play some part in obesity but it was not the only factor.
He also said there was research suggesting that although a woman might have an unhealthy diet during pregnancy and her child later becomes obese, the child may be protected from some health problems associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure, because of exposure in the womb.
Prof Bloom said the UK sees about 1,000 excess deaths a week due to the health consequences of obesity, while in the US it is 1,000 deaths a day.
He said: "The other factors that play an increasingly important role are simply lack of exercise and eating too much.
"Genes only play a small part. Tackling weight problems is still in your own hands."
Dr David Haslam, the clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, agreed that other factors also had responsibility for the current obesity epidemic.
"There is now research to suggest that at every stage in life there are factors which influence obesity," he said.
"At the moment every stage of the cycle is wrong and needs looking at. Until that happens it is like a vicious circle where a mother is imprinting her baby with a faulty metabolism which is passed on in the genes and just keeps on being passed on."
Dr Haslam said it was "crucial" that women were educated about the effects their diet could have on their unborn child.
He said governments also had a role to play in improving opportunities to take exercise, such as creating more cycle lanes, and improving nutrition in schools.
An Executive spokeswoman said: "Across the board we are committed to Scotland shaking off its sick man of Europe tag. To do that we have to make sure youngsters across Scotland are adopting healthy habits and lifestyles from a young age."
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