Washington:
Moms-to-be, please note - women who put on a lot of weight during pregnancy are likely to be obese 21 years later, a new study has claimed.
"Weight gain during pregnancy independently predicts the long term weight gain and obesity of women. We knew that maternal weight gain during pregnancy led to obesity in short and median term but we didn't know it had long term impact.
"Our study found that the excess weight gain in pregnancy has profound long lasting impact on future development of obesity," lead researcher Abdullah Mamun of University of Queensland said.
The study drew upon data from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) - a longitudinal study of more than 7,000 mothers and their children born at Mater Hospital during 1981-83.
The database held records of women's weight before pregnancy and maximum weight gain before they gave birth, allowing researchers to calculate the amount of weight gained during the gestation period.
Of the 2,026 women included in the study, 33 per cent gained excessive weight, 41 per cent gained adequate weight and 26 per cent gained inadequate weight during pregnancy.
The average weight gain for mothers participating in the study was 14.7 kg, about 400 grams per week.
"Weight gain during pregnancy independently predicts the long term weight gain and obesity of women. We knew that maternal weight gain during pregnancy led to obesity in short and median term but we didn't know it had long term impact.
"Our study found that the excess weight gain in pregnancy has profound long lasting impact on future development of obesity," lead researcher Abdullah Mamun of University of Queensland said.
The study drew upon data from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) - a longitudinal study of more than 7,000 mothers and their children born at Mater Hospital during 1981-83.
The database held records of women's weight before pregnancy and maximum weight gain before they gave birth, allowing researchers to calculate the amount of weight gained during the gestation period.
Of the 2,026 women included in the study, 33 per cent gained excessive weight, 41 per cent gained adequate weight and 26 per cent gained inadequate weight during pregnancy.
The average weight gain for mothers participating in the study was 14.7 kg, about 400 grams per week.
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