Children ‘programmed’ to be overweight

WOMEN who have gestational diabetes are more likely to have children who will battle diabetes and weight problems through their lives, Australian research suggests.

The scientists found that when mice developed the condition during pregnancy it had the effect of “foetal programming” weight and other problems into their offspring.

There was evidence of changes in the expression of certain brain neuropeptides which control energy balance and body weight in the offspring mice.

“We found that offspring from diabetic mothers spontaneously get fat on a normal diet,” said Dr Jenny Gunton who completed the work with Dr Sue Mei Lau at Sydney’s Garvan Institute for Medical Research.

“They even tend to eat a bit less than normal, but their metabolic rate is much lower so that doesn’t compensate.

“As the offspring get fatter, their bodies become less able to secrete and use insulin, which shows they are in the first stages of developing diabetes themselves.”

The research indicates a direct link between a mother’s blood sugar levels during pregnancy and the metabolic characteristics of her offspring in adult life.

Dr Gunton said it was a concerning finding, given that up to 10 per cent of Australian women develop gestational diabetes.

The condition is linked to the amount of weight a woman puts on during the pregnancy. The optimal weight gain is around four to 12 kilograms depending on starting weight, but many women put on 20 to 30kg.

Babies born to women with gestational diabetes are also more likely to require caesarean sections as they are fatter at full term.

“If we don’t apply the brakes on gestational diabetes soon, we’re going to see a spiralling of its side-effects in coming decades,” Dr Gunton also said.

“Those side-effects are escalating levels of obesity and diabetes, as well as more difficult births, caesarean sections and higher risk of sick babies, because diabetes makes the placenta function less well.”

Dr Lau said the research should add impetus to the need for improved initiatives to detect and reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes.

“The trend in Australia is moving towards universal screening of women in the early third trimester,” she said.

The research is published in the journal Diabetologia.