Maternal obesity during pregnancy may be linked to behavioral problems in boys
"The study results suggest that early intervention with women to attain healthy weights before they become pregnant is critical to their health and the health of their future children," commented senior investigator Barbara Abrams, DrPH, of the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 15 out of every 100 women of childbearing age are severely obese. Recent studies have linked high maternal weight, before and during pregnancy, to child behavior and particularly to problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Some evidence also points to a possible link with internalizing problems, such as depression. These problems can have negative effects on school performance and relationships with others. Researchers used the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) to investigate whether maternal pre-pregnancy body-mass index (BMI) is associated ...