'I'm eating for two' is an age-old adage. And although pregnancy cravings are a bonafide reality, plus sometimes you've just got to eat whatever you can stomach to get yourself through morning sickness, it would also be true to say that 'eating for two' is a handy excuse for scoffing that extra deep fried mozzarella stick or tucking into a late night second pizza dinner.
Unfortunately, a new study published in the journal Diabetologia suggests that gaining either too much or too little weight during pregnancy can have some seriously dangerous effects on a foetus.
The research, conducted in Hong Kong, analysed 905 mother-child pairs and involved researchers measuring participants' weight gain against the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) guidelines.
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Researchers found that pregnant women who'd gained more weight than the IOM recommended amount, gave birth to children with higher blood pressure and an increased risk of insulin resistance than those who gained weight within the recommended range.
Insulin resistance is where cells in the body fail to respond to the hormone insulin, increasing an adult's risk of type 2 diabetes.
The child may also be more predisposed to macrosomia, whereby a newborn is significantly larger than average.
In addition, they could have a higher than average BMI which researchers suggest could lead to more cardiometabolic risks (an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease or stroke) in later life.
When it comes to the mother, too much weight gain may also result in a higher risk of gestational diabetes mellitus - a condition where the mother has higher than normal glucose levels.
Interestingly, the same adverse effects also occurred for women who gained too little weight than the recommended amount.
According to the IOM, women with a healthy BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 should be gaining between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy.
On average, the women taking part in the study saw their weight fluctuate by 22 pounds, with 41 per cent gaining weight that exceeded the recommended range, and 17 per cent having out on less weight than they needed to.
Meanwhile, 42 per cent gained weight within the recommended levels.
Lead researcher Professor Wing Hung Tam argues that while the research doesn't suggest pregnant women should be subjected to regular weigh-ins (this procedure stopped in the 1990s), there needs to be an improvement when it comes to education and monitoring of weight gain.
'What’s more important is that "eating for two" could be harmful,' he told The Independent.
'A pregnancy requires an extra 300 kcal per day. What a pregnant mother needs is a balanced diet meeting such requirements with adequate micronutrients.
'They also need to have moderate exercise to avoid putting up excessive weight gain.'
In other words, pregnancy shouldn't cause you to ignore all your healthy food groups in favour of lots of fried chicken and ice cream sundaes. Everything in moderation is still a great guideline for life, even during pregnancy.
This isn't the first time researchers have looked into the effects of weight gain and loss in pregnant women.
A 2017 study published in the journal JAMA found that the term ‘eating for two’ often overestimates a woman’s calorific requirements during pregnancy and ‘misrepresents the recommendation that a pregnant woman should increase food consumption by only a few hundred calories per day’.
At the end of the day, pregnant women should never be told what they can and cannot eat during pregnancy.
However, greater awareness about the dangers of gaining too much or too little weight, especially by the consumption of sugar and salt laden foods, for both mother and baby is essential. Education allows people to make more informed choices.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
