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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Heres another reason to maintain a healthy weight: obese women are more likely to end up with children who have asthma.
This finding comes from researchers in The Netherlands who followed nearly 4,000 children from before birth up to age eight. About 20 percent of their mothers were overweight, and among children with at least one parent with asthma, having an obese mother increased the risk of asthma by age eight by 65 percent.
How would having a mother who was obese during pregnancy influence asthma risk in youngsters? The researchers explain excess fat produces pro-inflammatory cytokines and suppresses anti-inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are known to play a role in asthma.
Therefore, when you have an obese person, you are not just looking at a problem of excess fat, but a problem of systemic inflammation, study author Jet Smit, Ph.D., was quoted as saying. This may affect the immunological and pulmonary development in the fetus and possibly result in a higher risk of asthma symptoms after birth.
Dr. Smit believes the findings of his study should provide one more reason for women in their childbearing years to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, if they are already overweight or obese.
SOURCE: Presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, May 19, 2009
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