Obesity Summit: Do you agree that what a pregnant woman eats may lead to obesity in her child?

Doctors suggest that what a woman eats during pregnancy can impact the chances of her child being obese. (iStock Photo)

By CBC News

What a mother eats during pregnancy can put her baby at increased risk of obesity - new research presented at an obesity summit in Montreal suggests.

A pediatric endocrinologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Dr. Jill Hamilton, said new research shows pregnant women with high cholesterol or fatty acid levels are more likely to have children who later become obese and develop Type 2 diabetes.

"Some of these molecules can be transmitted to the baby and influence how the baby develops. It may impact programming pathways in the brain related to appetite," said Hamilton.

Remarkably, simple changes in a mother's nutrition in pregnancy can permanently alter the appetite and the physical activity levels of the offspring," said Dr. Keith Godfrey, a professor of epidemiology and human development at the University of Southhamptom - based on his findings that were published in the Diabetes journal .

The Canadian Obesity Network's national summit includes more than 800 delegates who are discussing prevention and treatment from public health, nutrition, genetic, legal and policy perspectives.

The conference runs until May 1.

Read more.

Do you agree with this obesity research that claims what a woman consumes during pregnancy may impact her child's chances of being obese? Why or why not? Does this research impact your views of what a woman should eat while pregnant? Please share your comments below.


(The survey is not scientific. The results are based on the readers' responses.)