How weight loss surgery in mothers will impact children’s health? A team of researchers has recently studied the effects of weight loss surgery in mothers on their future children. The researchers suspected that a child whose mother was a bariatric patient will be healthier and less likely to be obese.
A new study suggests that children born after a mother’s bariatric surgery are less likely to be obese.
The study observed 50 children from 20 mothers before and after bariatric surgery. Preliminary results suggest that children born after a mother’s weight loss surgery are in fact less likely to develop obesity and have unhealthy lifestyles.
The reasons for these results are still not very clear, but two explanations could be presented:
- Children’s genes are different: Researchers compared the genes of children born before weight loss surgery with the genes of children born afterwards. What they found is that the genes of children born after weight loss surgery behaved differently than those of children born before. These children had better blood pressure and insulin levels and showed improved heart health.
- Parents are more health-oriented: It is a well-known fact that weight loss surgery is not magic. It only works if the patient makes the required effort and commitment to diet and a healthy lifestyle after the operation. It could be, then, that the reason why children born after weight loss surgery are at less risk of obesity is because the parents have created a healthier environment at home. After the surgery, parents, especially the mother, will have a different perspective on food and will keep healthier foods in the household.
Can weight loss surgery really have a life-altering influence on the health of the children of the previously obese? Further research is still needed to answer this question, but it is a promising study that can change our knowledge of the relationship between genes and weight.
