Researchers at the University of Southern California report that Vitamin D deficiency in mothers during early pregnancy can lead to fatter babies and obesity in the kids later in life. And that’s an issue that can be addressed easily, if expectant mothers simply follow their doctors’ orders…
Chubby babies may lead to fat kids, overweight young adults and obese older adults.
Vitamin D deficiency during early pregnancy may have a lot to do with it.
Researchers, working in cooperation with the Keck School of Medicine, found that 6-year-olds born to mothers with very low vitamin D levels during their first trimester had bigger waists — about half an inch plumper on average — than peers whose mothers had enough vitamin D in early pregnancy. These kids also had 2 percent more body fat.
That sounds like a small difference, but it presages a real issue with weight control when those children become older.
Vaia Lida Chatzi, senior author of the study and associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, says, “These increases may not seem like much, but we’re not talking about older adults who have about 30 percent body fat. Even a half-inch increase in waist circumference is a big deal, especially if you project this fat surplus across their life span.”
The study…
The study, published in the journal Pediatric Obesity in January, examined the data of 532 mother-child pairs in Greece. Maternal vitamin D concentrations were measured during the first prenatal visit. The child’s health and weight were measured at birth, 4 and 6 years.
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women has increased in the last two decades, Chatzi notes. About 66 percent of the pregnant women in the study had insufficient vitamin D in the first trimester, a critical period for organ development. Animal studies have shown that vitamin D suppresses pre-fat cells (adipocytes) from maturing into fat cells. Test tube studies of human fat cells also showed that vitamin D may hinder pre-fat cells from turning into fat cells.
“It’s possible that children of mothers with low vitamin D have higher body mass index and body fat because vitamin D appears to disrupt the formation of fat cells,” Chatzi says. “Optimal vitamin D levels in pregnancy could protect against childhood obesity, but more research is needed to confirm our findings. Vitamin D supplements in early pregnancy is an easy fix to protect future generations.”
What to do?
It’s an easy problem to solve.
Chatzi says pregnant women will almost certainly be counseled by their doctors to take vitamin supplements. Those supplements will include hefty dose of Vitamin D. But recent studies indicate that even more D may be beneficial in a number of ways.
And the rest of us?
Some 75 percent of U.S. teenagers and adults have too little vitamin D in their system, according to a 2009 study. Deficiency in this ‘sunshine vitamin’ has already been linked to increased risk of heart disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes.
Most doctors recommend that adults take at least 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily, especially those who live farther north and get less sunlight. The daily maximum, though not an official number, is 4,000 IU. Too much vitamin D can cause health problems, too.
Maggie J.