Pregnancy weight gain and child obesity

In our recent paper in Maternal & Child Nutrition we studied low-income Dominican and African American dyads from the Bronx and Northern Manhattan from pregnancy to 7 years of age. We found that women whose pregnancy weight gain exceeded the 2009 Institute of Medicine Guidelines had children with higher body fat and waist circumference at 7 years of age. These children were also at very high risk of obesity. This work extends previous evidence showing that nutrition and maternal health in pregnancy are very important for childhood health, particularly in vulnerable populations such as these low-income urban youth.

This paper was featured by Columbia University Medical Center, Huffington Post and the US News and World Report.