University of New South Wales (UNSW) research has highlighted a link between childhood obesity and a mother’s diet before and during pregnancy. The work in animals proves that overweight expectant mothers are more likely to have babies with more body fat, who are at greater risk of diabetes and lipid metabolic disorders later in life.

Previous research shows that around 30 percent of women who become pregnant are overweight.

The research, published in the journal Endocrinology, shows pups from obese mother rats who were fed more milk are almost twice as heavy as those born to lean mothers with a regular milk consumption at weaning age.

The cafeteria diet used to feed the mother rats is designed to approximate a western diet which people eat everyday at home. It is of high fat content, and palatable with a lot of variety.

The research found that the mother rats ate more than double the calories of the control group.

“Maternal obesity and overfeeding early on in life caused significant changes in the chemicals that regulate appetite, which may suggest that the babies were programmed to eat differently from those born from lean mothers,” says Professor Morris.

“Appetite is controlled by particular centres within the brain. Other research in this field* suggests that maternal food preferences during pregnancy can affect the food preferences of offspring.

“As brain control of appetite is likely set early in life, nutrient availability in the fetal or early post-natal period may contribute to adult obesity,” says Professor Morris.

The work also highlighted for the first time, different impacts of pre- and postnatal overfeeding on fat accumulation, circulating lipid levels, glucose metabolism, and brain appetite regulators.

In a separate paper, the same UNSW research group found that animals that were slightly undernourished in their early life had a head start on health.

“The less milk the babies had – and the lighter they were – the higher were levels of a hormone which is known to be protective of cardiovascular disease,” says Professor Morris.

The research, which is to be published in the International Journal of Obesity, also shows that pups that were undernourished remained lighter as adults, while those that were over-fed as babies continued to be fatter as adults.

“We know that undernutrition has an effect on longevity and this research seems to support this,” says Professor Morris.

Following an extensive evidence review, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) concluded that doctors, nurses, hospitals and health systems have a role to play in encouraging and supporting breastfeeding.  In an update to its 2003 recommendation on counseling to promote breastfeeding, the USPSTF recommends primary care interventions before, around, and after child birth to encourage and support breastfeeding.  The recommendation appears in the October 21, 2008, issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians’ flagship journal.

For the study, the Task Force evaluated more than 25 randomized trials of breastfeeding interventions conducted in the United States and in developed countries around the world.  The Task Force concluded that coordinated interventions throughout pregnancy, birth, and infancy can increase breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity.  For example, a cluster-randomized trial of more than 17,000 mother-infant pairs in the Republic of Belarus found that breastfeeding interventions increased the duration and degree (exclusivity) of breastfeeding.  Infants in the intervention group were significantly more likely than those in the control group to be exclusively breastfed (exclusive breastfeeding is when an infant receives no other food or drink besides breast milk).  The intervention emphasized health care worker assistance with initiating and maintaining breastfeeding and lactation and postnatal breastfeeding support.

“Our review produced adequate evidence that multifaceted breastfeeding interventions work,” said Task Force Chair Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, who is also Chief Medical Officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver.  “We found that interventions that include both prenatal and postnatal components may be the most effective at increasing breastfeeding duration.  Many successful programs include peer support, prenatal breastfeeding education, or both.”

In 2005, 73 percent of new mothers initiated breastfeeding, nearly reaching the U.S. Healthy People 2010 goal of 75 percent.  However, only 14 percent of infants were exclusively breastfed for their first six months, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the U.S. Surgeon General.

Breastfeeding has substantial health benefits to babies and their mothers.  Babies who are breastfed have fewer infections and allergic skin rashes than formula-fed babies and also are less likely to have sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).  After breastfeeding ends, children who were breastfed are less likely to develop asthma, diabetes, obesity, and childhood leukemia.  Women who breastfeed have a lower risk for type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer than women who have never breastfed.

“We hope that these recommendations will help women and their physicians understand what they need to do to start and continue breastfeeding their babies,” said Dr. Calonge.  “Simply telling mothers they should breastfeed or giving them pamphlets is not enough.”