We hear elders advising the young pregnant women to do exercise. It is good for a less painless delivery, they say. But there is one more reason, it could make the baby also fit after the birth and growing up.
A study led by Min Du, professor at Washington State University found that the exercise during pregnancy will help babies not to be obese or fat. Because, exercise will stimulate production of brown adipose tissue or the good fat that is primary responsible for burning off the heat and thus reduce the obesity.
The study results show the offspring of physically fit mice that exercised daily during pregnancy not only had a greater proportion of brown fat relative to body weight but also burned white fat off quicker than the offspring of a control group of pregnant mice that did not exercise. This helped prevent obesity and also improved metabolic health.
“Previous research has shown that exercise among overweight women during pregnancy protects against metabolic dysfunction and obesity in their offspring,” Du said. “This new study shows these benefits may also extend to the offspring of women who are healthy and in shape.”
Exercise during pregnancy also stimulated the production of apelin, an exercise-induced hormone, in both mothers and their fetuses. Apelin stimulates brown fat development and improves metabolic health.
“This suggests that the apelinergic system could be a possible target for developing drugs that help prevent obesity,” Du said.
