By Randy Dotinga 
 
 HealthDay Reporter 
 
 TUESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Here's another reason for young women to get their bad eating habits under control: Kids born to obese mothers are likely to die earlier than those born to normal-weight mothers, a new Scottish study suggests. 
 
 In the United States and Europe, about two-thirds of women of reproductive age are overweight and more than one-third are obese, according to the study. Previous research has suggested that obesity during pregnancy may boost the risk of high blood pressure and high blood sugar, which are linked to cardiovascular disease, in their offspring. The findings of the new study are even more ominous. 
 
 "We need to think about targeting children of obese mothers for lifestyle interventions to maintain a healthy weight," said study author Rebecca Reynolds, a professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Edinburgh. 
 
 But the findings aren't conclusive, and it could be that the mothers' weight has nothing to do with the life spans of their children. It's possible, for example, that families with poor diets produce heavier moms and sicker kids. 
 
 Also, even if the link is confirmed, it's not clear if these offspring can alter their extra risk of dying earlier, the researchers added. 
 
 Earlier this year, a committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said all overweight or obese women should be offered nutrition counseling and be encouraged to follow an exercise program. 
 
 But the results of the new study suggest that weight-loss interventions should begin before pregnancy, according to Pam Factor-Litvak, author of an accompanying journal editorial. 
 
 For the study, published online Aug. 13 in the journal BMJ, the researchers tracked almost 38,000 people born in Scotland from 1950 onward who were aged 34 to 61 in 2011. They looked for data on the mothers body-mass index (BMI) -- a measurement of body fat based on height and weight -- and any deaths or heart disease among their children through that year. 
 
 Overall, more than 6,500 deaths from anycause were reported, and the leading causes of death were cardiovascular diseaseand cancer. 
 
 Those whose mothers were obese at birth -- meaning they had a BMI of 30 or higher -- were 35 percent more likely to have died by 2011 than those whose mothers were a normal weight. 
 
 These young and middle-aged adults were also about 29 percent more likely to have been admitted to a hospital because of a heart problem; overall, 8 percent were admitted for that reason. 
 
 The researchers came up with these numbers after adjusting their statistics to account for factors such as income level, gender, or maternal age at birth. 
 
 Children of mothers who were overweight -- a BMI of 25 to 29 -- were 11 percent more likely to die than those of mothers of normal weight. 
 
 The mechanisms behind this association aren't clear, and the researchers were lacking one crucial piece of information: whether the kids of obese pregnant moms became obese themselves. However, Reynolds said it's possible that genes play a role. Or, it's possible that the families of obese pregnant moms had poor eating habits that affected their children's health later on. 
 
 Shinga Feresu, an associate professor at Indiana University School of Public Health, said it's also possible that health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease and high blood pressure could have thrown off the results. Overweight and obese children and teens are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, putting them at a higher risk of early heart disease, Feresu said. 
 
 Nonetheless, it's clear that "women who are obese need to reduce their weight to a healthy level before they become pregnant," Feresu said. "They will have a much healthier baby, with reduced risk of long-term disease and premature death." 
 
 Previous research has highlighted other obesity-related pregnancy problems. A study published in June in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight. 
 
 More information 
 
 For more about obesity, see the U.S. National Library of Medicine. ||||| Image caption Keeping a healthy weight during pregnancy is important for mother and child 
 
 Children born to obese and overweight mothers are more likely to die early of heart disease, a study has found. 
 
 Scottish research showed a 35% higher risk of dying before the age of 55 in adults whose mothers were obese in pregnancy. 
 
 It is not known how much of the link is down to genetics, influences in the womb or later lifestyle. 
 
 But the authors say their findings, in the British Medical Journal, are of "major public health concern". 
 
 One woman in five in the UK is obese at their antenatal booking appointment. 
 
 This study emphasises the need for everyone, but in particular pregnant women, to try to eat healthily and be active Doireann Maddock, British Heart Foundation 
 
 Premature deaths 
 
 The analysis included 28,540 women whose weight was recorded at their first antenatal check-up and their 37,709 children now aged between 34 and 61. 
 
 One in five mothers was classed as overweight with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9 and 4% were obese with a BMI above 30. 
 
 There were 6,551 premature deaths from any cause and heart disease was the leading contributor. 
 
 The risk of premature death was 35% higher among people born to obese mothers compared with those whose mothers had had normal weight in pregnancy. This was after adjusting the results for factors such as the mother's age at delivery, social class and infant birthweight. 
 
 The results also revealed that children born to obese mothers went on to be at 42% increased risk of being treated in hospital for a heart attack, stroke or angina. 
 
 Appetite control 
 
 Study leader Prof Rebecca Reynolds, of the University of Edinburgh, said the results highlighted the importance of current advice to maintain a healthy weight, eat sensibly and keep active during pregnancy. 
 
 She added that more work was needed to unpick the reasons for the increased risk and to look at the impact of weight gain over pregnancy. 
 
 "It would be nice to know how much of this risk is modifiable." 
 
 Previous research has shown a link between obesity in pregnancy and changes in appetite control and metabolism in children. 
 
 Prof Sir Stephen O'Rahilly, of the University of Cambridge, warned that obesity runs in families. 
 
 "Obese people are at higher risk of heart disease, so it is very likely that the people in this study whose mothers were obese were fatter than those whose mothers were lean." 
 
 'Eat healthily' 
 
 The researchers did not measure or account for this. 
 
 The Royal College of Midwives said it was important for women to start their pregnancy at a normal weight. 
 
 But Louise Silverton, RCM director for midwifery, said not all pregnancies are planned and midwives work hard to support women avoid excess weight gain and lose weight sensibly after birth. 
 
 Drastic dieting is not recommended. 
 
 Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study, said: "This study emphasises the need for everyone, but in particular pregnant women, to try to eat healthily and be active." ||||| The connection between a mother's pregnancy weight and her child's lifelong health is pressing, because obesity among pregnant women has risen 70% in just the past decade in the United States. 
 
 Middle-aged adults who had obese mothers are more likely to die young, according to a new study. (Photo: Jeff Haynes, AFP/Getty Images) Story Highlights Adults who had obese moms appear more likely to die young 
 
 Hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease also are more common 
 
 Womb environment may play a role, but more research is needed 
 
 Middle-aged adults whose mothers were obese or overweight in pregnancy have increased risks for developing serious cardiovascular problems and dying young, a new study shows. 
 
 The study, based on the health records of more than 37,000 people born in Scotland between 1950 and 1976, does not explain why a mother's weight would affect the health of an adult child decades later. Genes and upbringing may play roles. But the results also add to growing evidence that adverse conditions in the womb might have profound effects on offspring long after birth, says the study, published Tuesday in the British medical journal BMJ. 
 
 "It's very difficult to tease out," causes and effects when it comes to intergenerational health problems, says lead researcher Rebecca Reynolds, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Edinburgh. But she says the results lend credence to a theory that "over-nourished" fetuses may develop differences in their brains, blood vessels, hearts or metabolisms that make it more likely for them to become obese, unhealthy or both. 
 
 The study focused on adults ages 34 to 61 and linked their records with those from their mothers' first prenatal visits. After accounting for socioeconomic status, mothers' ages and other differences that might matter, researchers found that those born to obese women were 35% more likely to die, for any reason, and 29% more likely to be hospitalized for heart attacks, strokes or other cardiovascular problems when compared to adults who had normal-weight mothers. Cardiovascular diseases and cancer were the most common causes of death. 
 
 More modest increases in illness and death were seen among the grown children of women who were overweight but not obese. 
 
 The researchers defined overweight and obese by body mass index (BMI), a measure that takes weight and height into account. Mothers were considered obese if their BMIs were 30 or higher and overweight if their BMIs were between 25 and 29. It's not known whether the adults who got sick or died tended to share their mothers' weight problems. The study did show that the results held up whether or not babies were born heavy, Reynolds says. 
 
 The study "is certainly intriguing," though it lacks crucial information "on what happens between birth and midlife," in homes where children are raised by overweight and obese mothers, says Pam Factor-Litvak, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, New York. It also lacks information on fathers, she notes. Genes, shared diets and other factors need to be studied, she says. 
 
 But the suggestion that the womb environment sets the stage for later-life cardiovascular health and mortality is important to pursue, she says in an editorial accompanying the study. 
 
 In any case, there already are many good reasons for women to enter pregnancy at healthy weights and not to gain too much during the nine months, says Jeanne Conry, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The college recommends that women talk with their doctors about weight at every routine check-up, before and between pregnancies. Women who start a pregnancy obese have an increased risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure, having a Cesarean section and having a baby with birth defects, she says. 
 
 "You see an immediate effect on the fetus, so it's not too much of a leap to say we may see long-term impacts," says Conry, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento. 
 
 The issue is pressing, she says, because obesity among pregnant women has risen 70% in just the past decade in the United States. 
 
 Reynolds notes that just 4% of the mothers in her study were obese — but that 35% of reproductive-age women in the United States today are obese and that rates are similar in Europe. 
 
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– Bad news if your mother was obese or overweight while she was pregnant with you: You're more likely to die young, according to a new study. Researchers looked at health records for more than 37,000 people born in Scotland who are now between the ages of 34 and 61, and found that those born to obese women were 35% more likely to die before age 55, the BBC reports. They also had a 29% higher chance of experiencing heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular issues, USA Today reports. The effects were more modest, but still increased, among those born to overweight women; the results held up regardless of the baby's weight at birth. The study is particularly important now, one OB/GYN explains, because obesity during pregnancy has increased 70% in the US over the past 10 years. But researchers aren't sure why the effect is seen. It could have something to do with genes, or with "overnourished" fetuses developing problems while in the womb. But there could be other factors as well, such as whether the babies grew to be overweight themselves or whether shared poor diets in childhood played a role, according to US News & World Report.