Children whose mothers were overweight at conception can often have lower scores when testing their verbal and computational skills.
The results of a new study confirmed the findings of previous studies that, for whatever reason, children born to full women, as a rule, show a slightly lower level of intelligence than their peers.
Researchers at the Institute for Child Health at University College London scrupulously analyzed data on nearly 20,000 UK children participating in the study. Children passed standard tests for verbal abilities, computational and mental skills at the age of 5 and 7 years.
In general, children scored fewer points, whose mothers at the time of conception were overweight. The difference was very small: with an increase in the mother’s body mass index by 10 points (27.3 kg), the child’s points in the tests decreased by about 1.5 points.
Many scientists who did not participate in the study believe that it is too early to advise expectant mothers to lose weight for the sake of the intellectual skills of their children, because many factors, both genetic and environmental, affect the intellectual development of children. And to prove the "guilt" of excess weight of the mother is not possible.
However, experts say there are many reasons to strive for a healthy weight before pregnancy. Obesity can reduce the chances of having a baby, but it greatly increases the likelihood of certain health problems, such as pregnancy-related diabetes and high blood pressure. Obesity is also associated with a higher than usual risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and birth defects.
