Don?t Eat For Two: Study Suggests Women Not Gain Weight during Pregnancy
Since the eighties doctors have been recommending that pregnant women put on weight during pregnancy, regardless of their weight at the start. The suggested extra of around 15-30 pounds was believed to reduce the chances of fetal death or other complications during birth giving women a great reason to enjoy food throughout their pregnancy.
However recent studies show that this may not actually be useful, and doctors claim that women don?t need to eat for two, but more ?one and 1/20th. Not quite as appealing, by any account.
The study led by Yvonne S. Thorton, MD, MPH set out to test whether established guidelines made a difference in birth outcomes amongst obese women. The study followed 232 obese women. Half were told to eat, essentially, whenever and whatever they liked. The other half was put on a diet which included a daily food dairy. First group gained an average weight over 30 pounds, while the second only slightly above 11. 23 patients even lost weight during their pregnancy.
Dr. Thorton, who works as a clinical professor at New York Medical College stated: ?Women who are obese when beginning a pregnancy are, by definition, unhealthy. To say that they should gain even more weight is counter-intuitive, and our study bears that out.?
There were no deaths or other complications in the group that had been made to diet, and there were fewer babies weighing over 10 pound, which is good news as any birth over 10 pound can cause hazards to both child and parent.
Women on the diet also gained less weight, had fewer c-sections and retained less weight after the pregnancy. Quite impressive results, although it?s worth noting that all the people in the study group were obese, with a BMI of over 30, and the results don?t apply to other women, yet.
?Gaining weight during pregnancy contributes to obesity?, Claims Dr Thorton, who believes that attitudes like this have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the states, were 35% of adult woman are labelled as obese. ?It makes it that much harder for overweight women to return to their normal weight after pregnancy.? she concluded.