Consumer Health News

Bariatric surgeon comments on obese mothers and autism link

By April MacIntyre Apr 9, 2012, 21:01 GMT

The bad news on obesity is continuing to grow, as new research connects a mother carrying excess weight with the prospect of giving birth to a child with a potential developmental delay or even autism.

The bad news on obesity is continuing to grow, as new research connects a mother carrying excess weight with the prospect of giving birth to a child with a potential developmental delay or even autism.

Researchers claim half the risk of autism is genetic, while other contributing factors may include older parental age, premature birth or poor diet and lack of supplements.

The new findings come in the wake of the announcement last month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that autism-spectrum disorders, as the range of abnormalities is now called, affect one in 88 U.S. children, up from one in 110 in a 2009 report.

The link between obesity and developmental disorders dovetails with the hard fact that about a third of U.S. women of reproductive age are considered obese based on BMI indexes.

Obesity, older mothers having children, premature births and lack of time between pregnancy was cited by the journal Pediatrics, which studied over 1,000 children aged two to five years old with and without autism or other developmental problems, as well as their mother's health history.

The data revealed women obese before pregnancy had a 60% increase in the likelihood of having a child with autism and a doubling in risk of having a child with another type of delay. Diabetics had an even higher risk.

Monsters and Critics' resident expert on issues of obesity and bariatric surgery is Carson D. Liu, MD, FACS, FASMBS, who spoke to us today about this troublesome research.

"Pregnant mothers should eat healthy and treat their babies as if they were being exposed to the toxins on the environment. When pregnant mothers eat a lot of artificial coloring, sugar and junk foods, it will affect the unborn baby!"

"Life starts in the uterus and we must be doing something different to see this sudden spike in the autistic spectrum. The only disease that has increased in the last two decades is obesity," adds Dr. Liu. "There is a link with obesity and diabetes and high blood pressure. There is also a link with obese mothers with diabetes and hypertension and increased autism rates. Maybe obese mothers have more autistic children! Another reason to get in shape or stay in shape."

Also being considered are environmental factors, such as pollutants, and the data from the same research group of children in Monday's study showing the risk of autism doubled if families were living closer to a freeway during the third trimester of pregnancy. Not taking prenatal vitamins and having less than 12 months between kids also have been associated with autism.

Genetics were examined in three independent papers published in the journal Nature citing "highly disruptive" mutations on three genes in children with autism compared to those without, and estimated there could be 500+ mutations related to autism.