In Lancet: Even small weight gains between pregnancies bring risks
Health risks from extra body fat seem to be steadily moving down from the ranks of the clearly obese to those not much beyond thin. An example is in this week’s Lancet. Researchers at Harvard and in Sweden, conclude that gaining just a few kilograms, or five to ten pounds or so, between pregnancies increases appreciably the chance of developing ailments including diabetes or high blood pressure, and of childbirth complications such as stillbirth and preeclampsia. The additional risks, say the researchers, occur even among women whose additional girth still leaves them at normal weight at the start of their next pregnancy.
The researchers studied records of 150,000 Swedish women who had two pregnancies between 1992 and 2001. This sort of story needs care, as the study apparently does not delve into the reasons for the weight gain or into its timing. AP’s Maria Cheng finds one source who cautions — albeit only at the end of the story — that the weight gains themselves may be the result, not cause, of changing health in mothers-to-be.
Other stories: BBC; Times (UK) David Sanderson; Reuters Patricia Reaney;
Grist for the Mill: Harvard School of Public Health Press Release;
