Healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy could lead to healthier
children

Date:
September 11, 2020
Source:
King's College London
Summary:
New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity
during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for
their children.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research shows improving the lifestyle of women with obesity during pregnancy could mean long-term cardiovascular benefits for their children.


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The study, led by King's College London and supported by the British
Heart Foundation and Tommy's charity, examined how an antenatal diet
and physical activity intervention in pregnant women with obesity could positively influence the health of the women and their children three
years after giving birth.

The UPBEAT trial is a randomised controlled trial which aims to improve
the diet and physical activity of obese pregnant women across the
UK. Women who were given a diet and exercise intervention were compared
to women in a control group, who made no changes to their lifestyle
during pregnancy.

Follow-up examinations three years after birth showed that the children
born to the intervention arm of the trial had a lower resting heart rate
of -5 bpm than children treated with standard care. A higher resting
heart rate in adults is associated with hypertension and cardiovascular dysfunction.

The study also showed that mothers in the intervention arm maintained
a healthier diet three years after birth.

While women reported lower glycaemic load, maternal energy and saturated
fatty acids intake, and higher protein intake three years after delivery,
there were no differences in self-reported physical activity or in
measures of body composition.

Lead author Kathryn Dalrymple from King's College London said: "This
research shows that an lifestyle intervention in pregnant women, which
focused on improving diet and increasing physical activity, is associated
with improved cardiovascular function in the child at three-years of
age and a sustained improvement in the mothers diet, three years after
the intervention finished.

These findings are very exciting as they add to the evidence that
pregnancy is a window of opportunity to promote positive health and
lifestyle changes which benefit the mother and her child." Senior author Professor Lucilla Poston, Tommy's Chair for Maternal and Fetal Health,
said: "Obesity in pregnancy is a major problem because it can increase the
risk of complications in pregnancy as well as affecting the longer-term
health of the child. This study strengthens my resolve to highlight
just how important it is that we give children a healthy start in life." Tommy's Research and Policy Director, Lizzie D'Angelo, said: "Pregnancy
can be higher risk for women who are obese, but trying to lose lots of
weight while pregnant is not advised, so our research focuses on finding
new ways to make pregnancy safer for these families. It's very reassuring
to see that our researchers have been able to improve mothers' diets and children's heart health in the long term, helping to give these babies the
best start in life." Tracy Parker, Senior Dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Keeping physically active and maintaining a balanced
diet are both important ways of keeping our hearts healthy. This research
shows that for pregnant women, the benefits don't end there. A healthy
diet before, during and after pregnancy can have positive long-term
health benefits for both mother and child." The team of researchers
will follow-up these children again at 8-10 years of age to see if this improvement in cardiovascular function is maintained through childhood.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by King's_College_London. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Kathryn V. Dalrymple et al. Adiposity and cardiovascular outcomes in
three‐year‐old children of participants in UPBEAT,
an RCT of a complex intervention in pregnant women with
obesity. Pediatric Obesity, 2020 DOI: 10.1111/ijpo.12725 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200911110804.htm

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