Weight loss surgery can provide lasting health benefits to children of post-bariatric mothers. A newly released study has shown that obese women who underwent weight loss surgery and lost weight prior to becoming pregnant reduced the risk of obesity in their children.
Women who are severely obese and want to have children are often advised on the benefits of having weight loss surgery before having children. Losing weight before pregnancy can make the experience safer for both mother and child by reducing the risk of pregnancy-related complications in post-bariatric women compared morbidly obese women.
This new study, which will appear in the November 2009 issue of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), shows that the benefits to children extend well beyond pregnancy and can affect a child’s health and risk of obesity throughout life.
Previous studies have shown that obesity and its co-morbidities can be passed from an obese pregnant women to their children, indicating a strong intrauterine influence. This new study confirms the previous research and indicates that childhood obesity is more closely linked to the intrauterine environment than to genes or post-natal environment.
For this study, researchers studied mothers who had children born both before and after having BPD weight loss surgery. What they found was that children of obese mothers who had weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant showed the following health benefits:
- reduced birth weight
- reduced weight circumference
- three times less likely to become severely obese
- improved cardiovascular markers, including reduced insulin resistance and lower cholesterol
Women who have weight loss surgery and lose weight before pregnancy make a significant contribution to their children’s future health and well-being. To learn more, read the article “Weight-loss Surgery Can Break A Family’s Cycle Of Obesity” from ScienceDaily.
Note: It is important to use reliable birth control during the weight loss period following surgery and wait until your doctor says it is safe to become pregnant.
