Low levels of Vitamin D in mothers associated with child's body fat (UK)

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24 May 2012 - Researchers in the UK have found that children are more likely to have higher levels of body fat during childhood if their mother had insufficient levels of Vitamin D during pregnancy. The study is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers at the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (MRC LEU), University of Southampton, compared the vitamin D status of 977 pregnant women with the body composition of their children.

The team found that body fat levels at age 6 where higher among children born to mothers who had low vitamin D status during pregnancy. Other factors, such as weight gain in pregnancy, or how physically active the children were, did not explain the differences.

To read the full news item at Medical News Today, go to: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245817.php