While physical exercise is beneficial for all, there has been a recent study of the benefits of exercising during pregnancy for both mother and children. He says that women who exercise significantly reduce their children ‘s chances of developing diabetes and other metabolic diseases later in life.
A study with lab mice found that exercise during pregnancy prevented the spread of metabolic diseases from an obese parent – mother or father – to a child. If the finding is true in humans, it will have a “significant impact” on pregnant women ensuring that their children live the healthiest life possible, the researchers report. the new scientific paper.
This means that one day soon, a woman’s first visit to the doctor after giving birth could include an order for an exercise program.
“Most of the harmful diseases we talk about today are known to have a fetal origin. This is to say that poor parental health conditions before and during pregnancy have a detrimental effect on the fetus. child, perhaps through chemical modification of the genes, “said researcher Zhen Yan, PhD, a leading exercise specialist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
“We were inspired by our previous mouse research meaning that regular aerobic exercise for an obese mother before and during pregnancy can protect the baby from the onset of diabetes. In this study, we ask the questions, what if an obese mother only works when she is pregnant, and what if the father is obese? “
Scientists know that exercise during pregnancy helps lead to healthy babies, reduces the risk of serious complications and premature delivery. But Yan, director of the Center for Skeletal Muscle Research at UVA’s Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, wanted to see if the benefits continued throughout children’s lives. And his work, both previous and new, suggests it will.
To prove that, Yan and his colleagues studied lab mice and their children. Some adult mice were fed a normal mouse before and during pregnancy, while others received a high-fat, high-calorie diet to resemble obesity.
Some people on the high-fat diet had a chance to put on a voluntary running wheel only when they were pregnant, where they could run all their favorite foods, but they didn’t. others, meant that they remained silent.
The conclusions were surprising: Both mothers and fathers in the high-fat group could predispose their children to metabolic disorders. In particular, males of the sedentary mothers on a high-fat diet were much more likely to develop high blood sugar and other metabolic disorders in adulthood.
To gain a better understanding of what was happening, the researchers looked at the metabolism and chemical (epigenetic) modification of the DNA of adult children. They found that there were significant differences in metabolic health and the functionality of some genes among the different groups of adolescents, suggesting that the negative effects of parental obesity persist, although they differ between the father and mother, for the life of the children.
The good news is that maternal exercise alone during pregnancy prevented a number of “epigenetic” changes that affect their children’s gene function, the researchers found. Maternal exercise, they concluded, completely ruled out the negative effects that maternal or paternal obesity had on the children.
The findings, they say, provide the first evidence that maternal exercise just during pregnancy can prevent the spread of metabolic diseases from parent to child.
“The message is take home that it’s not too late to start exercising if a mother finds her pregnant. Regular exercise will not only benefit pregnancy and work but also the baby’s long-term health,” Yan said. .
“This is more interesting evidence that regular exercise is perhaps the most promising intervention that will help us prevent pandemic disease in an aging world, as it can disrupt a cycle. the transmission of parental infections to a child. “
This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes.