Obesity alert over pregnancy dieting

Women who fall pregnant while dieting are more likely to have a child that could become obese or diabetic in later life, new research suggests.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd Apr 2012, 07:00 BST

Following a study carried out using sheep, University of Manchester scientists believe the findings may hold true for humans as well.

The team, which carried out the research with colleagues in New Zealand and Canada, investigated the pregnancies of ewes that received less food around the time the lamb was conceived.

The researchers found that unborn twin lambs had changes in the structure of DNA in the region of the brain that regulates food intake and glucose that resulted in an increased chance of diabetes in adulthood.

Canada New Zealand