Newswise — COLUMBUS, Ohio – Exercise during pregnancy not only benefits the mother, but also gives the baby a head start on heart health after birth, according to a study by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. It is said that there is a possibility.

In a mouse study, researchers found that if mothers exercised throughout pregnancy, their children had better heart health after birth. The study also found that exercise superseded the heart health risks posed by a high-fat diet, but only in female offspring and not in males. The study was published Monday in the journal Molecular Metabolism.

“Until now, the effects of maternal exercise on children’s heart health have not been thoroughly investigated. Our findings provide insight into how to prevent the transmission of cardiovascular disease to future generations. ,” said study leader Dr. Christine Stanford. She is a researcher in the Department of Surgery at the Ohio State University School of Medicine and associate director of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Institute.

The researchers fed female mice either a normal diet or a high-fat diet from before conception until weaning the pups. Adult mice were further divided into two groups: inactive group and active group. The offspring were then kept in a sedentary position and fed a regular diet until they were 24 weeks old, which is roughly equivalent to a human’s mid-30s. The results showed that children whose mothers ate a high-fat diet instead of a regular diet had lower ejection fractions, which measure how well the heart pumps blood. Female offspring born to mothers who ate a high-fat diet and exercised did not show reduced ejection fraction at 8, 12, or 24 weeks of age. Researchers are investigating why exercise counteracts the effects of poor diet only in girls, but not boys.

“Obesity rates continue to rise in the United States, and it is important to find ways to combat rising obesity rates. Our research shows that exercise and physical activity during pregnancy is good for mothers and their children. “It doesn’t have to be strenuous; the important thing is to be active,” Stanford said.

Previous research led by Stanford University has shown that exercise for mothers and fathers improves their children’s metabolic health, and that moderate exercise during pregnancy may reduce infants’ risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Researchers have found an increase in a compound in breast milk that reduces lifelong risk. The next step in this research is to determine whether changes in the gut microbiome are associated with how maternal exercise counteracts the effects on children’s heart health. This study is part of a $4.3 million grant from the American Heart Association.

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