13 Things You Never Knew About Your Weight

I read this article on yahoo.com and thought Number 5 was worth sharing...

5. Mom's Pregnancy Sealed Your Fate

A mother's cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage her baby's brain. So why wouldn't unhealthy foods wreak similar havoc? A growing body of science suggests that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before you're born, do exactly that. A Pennington study on rodents reports that overweight females have higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones do. These molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain.

Plus: When Alternative Medicine Goes Wrong

What's true for mice is often true for humans too. Doctors from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center compared children born before their mothers had gastric bypass surgery with siblings born later. Women weighed less after the surgery, as expected, but their children were also half as likely to be obese. Because siblings have such similar genetic profiles, the researchers attributed the weight differences to changes in the womb environment. Moms-to-be, take note: You can give your kids a head start by eating well before they're born.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/13-things-you-never-kn ew-about-your-weight-2574152/#photoViewer=5

I personally have no doubt this is true. Do a few minutes Googling "fetal origins," and it will blow your mind! When my mother was pregnant with my sister, she was a pretty normal weight, ate normally, had low stress, didn't work...my sister was a normal weight most of her life (a little heavier now that she's had a child, but I think that happens to LOTS of women!). On the flip side, while she was pregnant with me, she quit smoking so was a raging ***** (which she admits) and stuffed herself with lots of junk food. And I was not only overweight/obese essentially my whole life (didn't gain weight quickly enough in my first year, then gained too much forever after that until I was over 200 pounds upon entering high school) and then diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 25.

I don't want it to sound like I BLAME my mother for my health issues, but based on what I've read on the topic, and these personal experiences, it sure makes sense. I appreciate having the knowledge to be able to do hopefully better for my baby.