Effects of excessive weight gain during pregnancy on offspring health: a review / 预防医学

ABSTRACT

@#Excessive gestational weight gain has already become a global clinical and public health problem that seriously affects maternal health. Excessive gestational weight gain not only increases the cesarean section rate and induces adverse pregnant outcomes, but also affects offspring development and health. This article reviews the effects of excessive weight gain during pregnancy on offspring health and its underlying mechanisms. Excessive gestational weight gain may increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, mental or psychological illness among offspring, and the pathophysiological mechanisms include inflammatory response, intestinal flora dysbiosis and epigenetics theory. However, further studies are required to validate these hypotheses and to evaluate the effect of excessive weight gain at different gestational stages on offspring health, so as to provide insights into reasonable management of weight gain during pregnancy and improvements of offspring health.