Brussels, 23/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - A European study by the Developmental Origins of healthy and unhealthy Ageing (DORIAN) consortium, published on 21 February, recommends targeted preventative strategies aimed at girls and women of childbearing age, in an effort to prevent obesity among women. This is because obesity has a negative impact on the mothers as well as the children's health. The report is based on the observation that the chance of developing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes during adulthood was much higher in people whose mothers were overweight during the later stages of pregnancy and preventing maternal obesity was therefore crucial. Project leader, Dr Patricia Iozzo, said that major efforts had to be made to monitor lifestyles during pregnancy and improve the metabolic profile of the mother until the moment she gives birth.
Being overweight or obese is a problem that has become increasingly widespread in the European Union, with more than half of all adults (53%) being overweight and one in six being obese (17%). The DORIAN consortium receives funding from the European Commission's 7th Research Framework Programme and examined the consequences of maternal obesity in a three-year research programme that began in January 2012.
The aim of the research was to better understand the basic mechanisms that influence individual development from childhood to adulthood. Experts focused on the impact of obesity during the ageing process and its effects on children in the long term. The exact results stem from a study focusing on 13,000 subjects followed from birth (1930-1940) to their current age (60-70), that sought to evaluate whether signs of cardio-or neurovascular disease could be ascertained during the first phases of life.
The conclusions demonstrate that the metabolic profile, body weight and cardiac development among children are influenced by being overweight before pregnancy, combined with weight gain during pregnancy and by maternal weight and glycaemic control at the end of pregnancy. Behaviour disorders among children can also occur and the experts conclude that the two most important messages to draw from these results are 1) having a healthy diet and lifestyle is absolutely essential during pregnancy; 2) that if the mother suffers from anxiety-depression syndrome, she must follow a treatment to improve the symptoms. Dr Iozzo states: “Political leaders must introduce guidelines regarding diet during pregnancy, as well as a psychological support for pregnant women”. (Isabelle Lamberty)