Obesity prevention starts in the womb

Did you know that being obese in the first trimester of your pregnancy doubles your child's risk of becoming obese later in life? If you did not, you are not the only one. According to a new survey conducted by WomenTALK, only 11 percent of respondents were aware of this intriguing but worrying fact. The survey was carried out in order to figure out what women knew about obesity, and obesity prevention both for themselves and their families. The results were somewhat disturbing. WomenTALK surveyed over a thousand women through their online study. It was released today on HealthyWomen, where you can do and see the results for yourself.

Mothers have a larger influence on their children's future weight than fathers, perhaps because they are the ones that gestate them. The survey found that most women 87 percent agree that obese parents are more likely to have children who are obese at some point in life, only around a third of the respondents thought that the responsibility to prevent obesity lay with them. HealthyWomen executive director Elizabeth Battaglino Cahill said, "From an early age, children tend to eat the same foods as their parents, especially mothers, so exposure to nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables is not only setting a good example, but also positioning your child on a lifelong course of good health."

The survey also covered other related topics, and asked women whether they were aware that obesity can lead to various health conditions, ranging from diabetes (which most people were aware of) to colon cancer (which was another little-known fact). We'll stick to our own topic, and advise our readers to look into positive lifestyle changes to boost your fertility. Did you know that overweight mothers give birth to babies with more body fat? Perhaps losing weight should be on our preconception checklists!