There is a growing body of evidence that prenatal and lactational exposure to maternal obesity and the high-fat diet are associated with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in offspring, such as cognitive impairment, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders. Most studies have not controlled for antenatal maternal anxiety and depression, which can impact the frequency of psychopathologic disorders in offspring.
An increased risk of cerebral palsy (CP) has been observed in term singletons born to overweight and obese women in Sweden. In this population-based cohort study, adjusted hazard ratios for CP increased progressively from 1.26 at BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m2 to 1.86 at BMI ≥40 kg/m2 compared with women of normal BMI, but the absolute incidence of CP in offspring of these women was low: 2.22 to…
