Risk of Birth Defects Greater for Overweight Mothers
Risk increases with a BMI of 25 or greater.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said their study also confirmed an
already reported link between pre-pregnancy obesity
and neural tube birth defects, including spina bifida.
The links between weight and other defects, including
debilitating heart problems, have been less well
established, the researchers said.
Compared with normal-weight women, those who were
obese or overweight before pregnancy faced double
the risk of having babies with heart defects and
double the risk of multiple birth defects, the study
said.
"This is yet another adverse health outcome
associated with overweight and obesity, and people
need to know that," said CDC epidemiologist
Margaret Watkins. "Obesity prevention efforts
are needed to increase the number of women who are
at a healthy weight before they become pregnant."
Watkins said normally 3 to 5 percent of infants
are born with major birth defects.
Obese
women faced an even higher risk — more
than triple that of normal-sized women — of
having babies with a defect known as omphalocele,
in which intestines or other abdominal organs protrude
through the navel.
The study
was released today in May’s editions
of the journal Pediatrics.
Reasons for the links are uncertain but may include
nutritional deficits in women with poor eating habits
or diabetes, which is common in obesity and is known
to increase risks for birth defects, according to
the research team led by Watkins.
It also may be that obese women have increased but
sometimes unmet needs for nutrients such as folic
acid that can protect against some birth defects,
the researchers said.
Mothers were considered overweight if they had a
body-mass index between 25 and 30, and obese if their
BMI, a height-weight ratio, was 30 or higher.
Dr. Richard
J. Deckelbaum, director of Columbia University’s
Institute of Human Nutrition, said being overweight
and obese are reversible risk
factors that can lead to better outcomes for babies
and mothers.
"It’s an underappreciated link between
overweight and obesity before pregnancy and outcomes
for the infant and even for the mother during pregnancy," Deckelbaum
said.
===============================
FACT: Alcohol can affect the risk of developing type
2 DIABETES
Moderate drinking seems to LOWER the risk of
type 2 diabetes...heavy drinking seems to INCREASE
the
risk. In fact, men who drink more than 2 drinks/day
seem to be TWICE as likely to get diabetes as more
moderate drinkers. This is probably due to alcohol’s
effect on insulin resistance.
Researchers estimate that about 25% of the cases
of type 2 diabetes in men may be due to high alcohol
intake. Tell people this is one more reason to limit
their alcohol intake to 1 to 2 drinks a day. Explain
that heavy drinking increases the risk of heart disease...stroke...diabetes...and
some cancers.
Diabetes Care 2000;23:18. JAMA 1999;282:239,279.
Diabetes Care 1994;17:115.
===============================
Diagnostic
Testing for Home Use:
Total Cholesterol – Cholesterol
Panel – TSH Test (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)
- PSA Test- A1c Test – More Info or go
to
www.rx4betterhealth.com and
click on Laboratory Tests.
.
