Combating childhood obesity may start in the womb

Discourage the fat from reproducing.

Children whose mothers developed diabetes while pregnant are at increased risk of being overweight by age 11, a new study shows.

The study also found that children born to obese mothers are more likely to have a weight problem than children born to lean mothers.

"The best advice is to get lean and fit before you get pregnant," Dr. Lois Jovanovic of the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute in Santa Barbara, California, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health.

Earlier this week, First Lady Michelle Obama launched an action plan to combat childhood obesity. Number one in the list of recommendations was the need to stress the importance of starting a pregnancy at a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy weight throughout.

The new study, Jovanovic said, offers elegantly measured data to support this recommendation. "In order to prevent obesity in the next generation we have to do a whole lot for women in their childbearing years," she said.

And if they do, make them pay more.

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