How obese Australian mums are putting their kids at risk of mental problems

ONE in four Aussie mums are obese when they fall pregnant, exposing their kids to a higher risk of developing ADHD, aggression and other mental problems.

Kids of severely obese women are at risk of ADHD, aggression, anxiety, sleep problems and may have problems interacting with peers. Picture: istock

KIDS of severely obese women are at risk of ADHD, aggression, anxiety, sleep problems and may have problems interacting with peers.

An analysis of 112 three to five year-olds, whose mothers had a BMI of more than 40, found the children were more at risk of psychological problems than those born to normal weight women.

Compounding the problem is that almost one in four Australian women are obese when they become pregnant.

And previous Australian research has found they are more likely to have miscarriages, malformed babies and give birth by caesarean section.

The research published in Psychological Medicine proposes that chronic maternal inflammation, increased glucocorticoid production and depression associated with obesity may be to blame.

The researchers are calling for doctors to identify very obese women and their babies as a high-risk group and monitor them with a view to early intervention.

Children who have severely obese mothers are at risk of serious issues, new research has found. Picture: istock

The researchers at the University of Edinburgh also found having an obese mother was worse for male babies who were more likely to develop social and aggression problems.

The study found children of very severely obese mothers were more likely to wake up and sleep later at the weekend than the children of lean mothers and had more sleep problems.

Children of severely obese women were also more likely to be hyperactive, have behavioural problems, be anxious, depressed and aggressive than children born to normal weight women.

Researchers also found a “dose dependent” relationship with the psychological problems greater in mothers who were more obese.

Obese women are more likely to be depressed themselves and be on lower incomes and these factors are associated with poorer child-rearing practices which could contribute to the children’s problems.

One in four Australian women are now obese when they fall pregnant. Picture: istock

“If prenatal maternal obesity is truly a new risk factor for the development of increased neuropsychiatric symptoms in the offspring, this adds significantly to the current public health challenges arising from obesity in pregnancy,” researchers found.

Recent Belgian research has found women who are overweight while pregnant are more likely to have babies who are biologically older.

Their children could be at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases later in life, and may reduce their life expectancy.

Obese women who exercise during pregnancy may be able to reduce the risk their baby will be born fat and develop Type 2 diabetes.

A University of NSW team led by Professor Margaret Morris found the effect in research in mice.

The effects were sex-specific, with males appearing to benefit more from maternal exercise than females.