RSS Feed
July 12th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda THURSDAY, July 12 (HealthDay News) — Obese women who become
pregnant may give birth to babies with low levels of iron, a new study
reveals.
The findings suggest that overproduction of an iron-regulating hormone,
known as hepcidin, can interfere with the transfer of iron from an obese
woman to her unborn child.
Children born with iron deficiency are at greater risk for
developmental delays in their motor and thinking skills, the researchers
noted.
The study was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming
print issue of the Journal of Perinatology.
“The data on the impact of low maternal iron levels on the fetus comes
from undernourished populations,” the study’s first author, Dr. Sarbattama
Sen, a neonatologist at Tufts Medical Center and an assistant professor of
pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, said in a university
news release. “To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study to
demonstrate that obesity might hamper iron transfer from mother to child
and offers some insight into the mechanism of how it occurs.”
During pregnancy, a woman’s hepcidin levels remain low to improve the
transfer of iron to her unborn baby. Obese adults, however, have been
shown to produce higher levels of hepcidin than people with a normal
weight. Too much of this hormone, the study authors noted, can interfere
with the transfer of iron from a mother to her developing fetus.
The research, from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center
on Aging at Tufts University and The Mother Infant Research Institute at
Tufts Medical Center, examined 15 obese pregnant women and 15 pregnant
women with a normal weight. The investigators conducted blood tests on the
women during their second trimester. They also used cord blood to assess
the iron status of their newborns.
Being born to an obese mother with high levels of hepcidin was
associated with lower iron status at birth, the researchers found.
“When there is excess hepcidin in a cell, it binds to and inhibits the
function of ferroportin, the protein that allows iron to pass through the
cell membrane and into the bloodstream,” senior study author Simin Nikbin
Meydani, director of Tufts’ Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging,
explained in the release.
The study’s first author, Maria Carlota Dao, a doctoral student at the
center, added: “The chronic low-grade inflammation that can result from
being obese triggers an abnormal immune response, increasing production of
proteins that increase hepcidin levels.”
However, the authors added that more research is needed to investigate
the link between obesity and hepcidin levels and the iron status of
newborns before any changes are made to the dietary recommendations for
obese pregnant women.
“During pregnancy, women should try to eat a varied, healthy diet while
taking the standard prenatal vitamins recommended by their doctors,” Sen
said. “Weight-gain goals should be based on a woman’s BMI prior to
becoming pregnant.” BMI, or body mass index, is a measurement that takes
into account height and weight.
While the study found an association between maternal obesity and
infants’ iron levels, it did not prove a cause-and-effect
relationship.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about iron
deficiency in infants.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
