A mother’s obesity while she is pregnant may increase the odds that her child will develop Type I diabetes.

The Facts and Figures Supporting this Claim

More than one point two million children born between 1992 and 2004 were monitored for years to see which ones developed type I diabetes. The information gathered showed that thirty three percent more of the children who had mothers who were obese during the first three months that they were pregnant developed type I diabetes.

The researchers did not take into consideration mothers who suffered from diabetes. The data was only collected on children of obese mothers who did not have diabetes.

Children of parents who have diabetes are at a much higher risk of developing the disease even when the mother was not obese during pregnancy. Children who have fathers who are diabetic also have an increased risk of developing diabetes.

What is considered obese?

Any mother that had a body mass index of twenty five was considered to be overweight, but for the study a body mass index of thirty was used to determine obesity.

What is body mass index?

The body mass index is the amount a person weighs in comparison with how tall they are. So people of differing heights need to weigh different amounts.

What is Type I diabetes?

Type I diabetes is a chronic condition where the pancreas of the individual fails to make the proper amounts of insulin to regulate the blood sugars. This condition is most often seen in children and young people. Type II diabetes is most often seen in adults.

About ten percent of the diabetics in the world have Type I diabetes. The number of people with the condition has been steadily increasing over the course of the last twenty five years.

Increased number of Obese People

Obesity has become a real health concern in every nation during the last twenty five years.

Between 1980 and today the number of people who have a body mass index greater than thirty has doubled.

In 2014, there were about one point nine billion adults that were considered to be overweight. Of those one point nine billion people six hundred million were considered to be obese. These figures come from data compiled by the World Health Organization.

What this means for the future

If the condition of obesity is addressed before a woman becomes pregnant, then the number of children who develop type I diabetes will be greatly reduced.

Since weight plays a large factor in the development of type II diabetes in adults addressing the rising numbers of people with a body mass index of twenty five or greater could reduce the numbers of people who have either type of diabetes.

By reducing the number of people who have diabetes it would reduce the number of people who have some cancers, some liver diseases, kidney diseases, and much more.

Medical professionals should council any woman thinking of getting pregnant on the risk factors of obesity and childhood diabetes development.