We all have heard by now that obesity is a growing threat to public health. According to the World Health Organization (2020, April 1), the issue has reached epidemic proportions as it nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016. As of 2016, 1.9 billion people were overweight, 650 million were obese, and 4 million people died from related causes. 

Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest among the scientific community to understand if, as many have suggested, maternal obesity is associated with babies being overweight or obese. 

Obesity And Pregnancy 

In the US, Australia, and the UK, about 50% of pregnant women were overweight or obese in their first doctor’s appointment. Not only can this be a risk to their pregnancy and delivery, but researchers fear it can have an impact on the baby’s future development and contribute to the increase of obesity in children. 

A recent study, called a meta-analysis, has analyzed all the existing research that evaluates the effects of maternal obesity to find out the impact of maternal obesity on breastfeeding. In other words, researchers wanted to see if there’s any relationship between the mom’s weight and the quality of their breast milk. 

The Study’s Findings 

The extensive analysis took into account up to 2,717 studies and publications, but only 31 of them passed the quality standards of the researchers and only 9 had the needed characteristics for the study’s purpose, which was to compare the moms’ weight and their breast milk composition. 

The researchers in charge of the study were still able to draw some conclusions from the results of the publications that passed the quality test: 

• A higher weight was associated with a higher fat concentration in moms’ breast milk, but only in transitional or mature milk (later stages of the lactation process). 

• Similarly, obese or overweight moms also showed higher lactose concentrations in their breast milk in the first stage of lactation (the milk called colostrum). 

• No evidence was found of any relation between obesity and higher protein concentration.

Conclusion 

In summary, the study did find some evidence that backs up the suggestion that maternal obesity and childhood obesity are related. A higher concentration of fat and lactose in breast milk can have an impact on the baby’s weight and metabolic development. 

However, the research insists that more and higher-quality studies are needed to draw solid conclusions on the impact of maternal obesity on breastfeeding. They consider this issue to be crucial to avoid the health threats that obesity can mean for babies and young children. 

References 

• World Health Organization, (2020, April 1). Obesity and overweight. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight 

• Leghi, G.E., Netting, M.J., Middleton, P.F., Wlodek, M.E., Geddes, D.T., and Muhlhausler, B.S (2020, March 27). The Impact of Maternal Obesity on Human Milk Macronutrient Composition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/4/934/htm