Healthy Diet and Exercise During Pregnancy Could Lead to Healthier Children

A study completed by Kings College London, in partnership with the British Heart Foundation and Tommy's charity, explored the effects that antenatal diet and physical activity intervention could have on pregnant women. The study examined pregnant women with obesity, assessing whether this intervention had a positive influence on the health of women and their children three years after birth.

Those given the diet and exercise intervention plan were compared to women in a control group, who did not adjust their lifestyle whilst pregnant.

Recent results, gathered from the 3 year follow up examinations, found that children born from women who received intervention had a lower resting heart rate of -5bpm than those in the control group. Mothers, similarly, maintained a healthier diet in the three years following the birth of their child, suggesting the long term effects extend to both the child and mother.