Photo by Bianca de Blok.
Male offspring appear to benefit more than females from the positive effects of exercise during pregnancy, an animal study by UNSW medical researchers has found.
The study in rats also found mothers who exercised moderately while pregnant reduced their offspring's body weight, insulin and blood glucose levels, potentially lessening their risk of developing metabolic disorders such type-2 diabetes later in life.
The findings were published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
The UNSW team led by Professor Margaret Morris, Head of Pharmacology from the School of Medical Sciences, examined whether the detrimental effects of maternal obesity on offspring could be reduced by the mother's voluntary exercise, prior to and during pregnancy.
"We hypothesised that voluntary exercise during pregnancy would have beneficial effects on glucose levels and metabolism," Professor Morris said.
Female rats were fed a high fat diet, including pies, cakes, dim sims and biscuits, for six weeks before mating and throughout gestation and lactation. Half underwent voluntary exercise introduced 10 days prior to mating and available until their offspring were delivered, while others remained sedentary.
Gene expression relating to glucose, metabolism and inflammation in fat and muscle tissue were then measured 19 days after birth.
"Maternal exercise appeared to decrease the metabolic risk induced by maternal obesity, limiting fat deposits around the abdomen in the offspring and improving their insulin and glucose metabolism during the lactation window," Professor Morris said.
The effects were sex specific, with males appearing to benefit more from maternal exercise than females, the study showed.
"Maternal exercise significantly improved male offspring's insulin and glucose metabolism whereas female offspring showed only modest improvements," Professor Morris said.
"As to why male offspring seem to benefit more than females from the positive effects of exercise during pregnancy, that's a mystery that we hope to solve with further research."
"While this study was conducted in rats, the findings are a useful addition to the existing body of evidence that points to the importance of both diet and exercise for pregnant women to ensure the future health of their baby."
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Photo by Bianca de Blok.
Male offspring appear to benefit more than females from the positive effects of exercise during pregnancy, an animal study by UNSW medical researchers has found.
The study in rats also found mothers who exercised moderately while pregnant reduced their offspring's body weight, insulin and blood glucose levels, potentially lessening their risk of developing metabolic disorders such type-2 diabetes later in life.
The findings were published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
The UNSW team led by Professor Margaret Morris, Head of Pharmacology from the School of Medical Sciences, examined whether the detrimental effects of maternal obesity on offspring could be reduced by the mother's voluntary exercise, prior to and during pregnancy.
"We hypothesised that voluntary exercise during pregnancy would have beneficial effects on glucose levels and metabolism," Professor Morris said.
Female rats were fed a high fat diet, including pies, cakes, dim sims and biscuits, for six weeks before mating and throughout gestation and lactation. Half underwent voluntary exercise introduced 10 days prior to mating and available until their offspring were delivered, while others remained sedentary.
Gene expression relating to glucose, metabolism and inflammation in fat and muscle tissue were then measured 19 days after birth.
"Maternal exercise appeared to decrease the metabolic risk induced by maternal obesity, limiting fat deposits around the abdomen in the offspring and improving their insulin and glucose metabolism during the lactation window," Professor Morris said.
The effects were sex specific, with males appearing to benefit more from maternal exercise than females, the study showed.
"Maternal exercise significantly improved male offspring's insulin and glucose metabolism whereas female offspring showed only modest improvements," Professor Morris said.
"As to why male offspring seem to benefit more than females from the positive effects of exercise during pregnancy, that's a mystery that we hope to solve with further research."
"While this study was conducted in rats, the findings are a useful addition to the existing body of evidence that points to the importance of both diet and exercise for pregnant women to ensure the future health of their baby."
Explore further: Sleep apnea during pregnancy is not good for mother or baby
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Exercise can reverse negative effects of maternal obesity
(Medical Xpress) -- Exercise is the key to overcoming the adverse metabolic effects passed on to offspring by their overweight mothers, with research showing for the first time these effects can be almost completely reversed ...
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Sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, is a potentially serious condition because it deprives the body of oxygen. It becomes an even more serious condition in pregnant women—who ...
Maternal insulin resistance changes pancreas, increases metabolic disorders risk in offspring
A growing proportion of women of childbearing age are among the estimated one in three Americans who have insulin resistance—a metabolic disorder that can be a precursor to a number of health problems, including diabetes, ...
Mother's diet influences weight-control neurocircuits in offspring
Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation may prime offspring for weight gain and obesity later in life, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers, who looked at rats whose mothers consumed ...
Can exercise during pregnancy reduce the offspring's cancer risk?
If a mother exercises during her pregnancy, will that benefit her children? Researchers at the University of Kentucky have initiated studies to look into the idea: a group from the UK Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences ...
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration must hold companies to a higher standard when it comes to herbal supplements, said Edward Bednarczyk, University at Buffalo pharmacy practice chair, PharmD.
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When the human genome was released in 2003, the Institute for the Future, in Palo Alto, USA, said, "about one third of American adults are likely to make at least some decisions based on a knowledge of personalized nutrition ...
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