Skinny Moms Raise Smarter Babies, Study Says
Photo: Sana Ako si Ricky Lee / The Bump
Here’s something that might be hard for moms to swallow: a recent study suggested that women who are thin give birth to children with higher I.Q.’s. Hm.
The report, which comes from the United Kingdom, says that children born to overweight mothers may score slightly lower on I.Q. tests than children with thinner mothers. Conducted by the University College London’s Institute for Child Health, over 20,000 children were tested across three areas: verbal ability, number skills and reasoning skills at ages 5 and then again at age 7. The results are startling: If mom was overweight prior to becoming pregnant, her child scored 1.5 points lower on the three tests. And if mom was obese prior to her pregnancy, scores were 3 points lower.
But how do you know if you’re considered in the “at risk” category for being overweight? Moms participating in the survey self-reported their BMI (body mass index) when their children were 9-months-old, roughly 5 years before any formal testing would begin to showcase the I.Q. differences. A correct, thorough reading of your body mass index can be made by scheduling a doctor’s visit, but here is an online guide for measuring your own. Just to give you a figure to go off of, 18 to 25 percent of a woman’s bodyweight should be fat.
It’s important to keep in mind that these are just the returns of one study. The responses are not conclusive enough to confirm that all moms who are considered overweight birth babies with low-range skills.
In fact, if there is anything to be gleaned from this study, it’s the importance of maintaining a healthy, responsible and nutritious diet prior to conception, during pregnancy, and all throughout motherhood. Children need firm, strong examples and role models — both physically and mentally — to help build the basis for how they will behave.
Do you think these results are true: do thinner moms raise smarter children?
Plus, more from The Bump:
Your Guide to Prenatal Tests and Doctor Visits
Can I Get Pregnant If I’m Overweight?
The Knot Blog
The Nest Blog
Why is this even worth sharing? This is way too subjective of a study to even consider taking it to heart. What is the study’s definition of ‘thin’? Fit and thin are often two different things, and I fail to see how the findings of one study, that you have stated does not prove anything, is even being shared. There are bigger issues than this. It is important for moms to live a healthy lifestyle, but that is a very subjective term and ‘thin’ or ‘skinny’ often has nothing to do with it.
I don’t believe its subjective. The study used the persons BMI to determine if they were healthy, overweight, or obese. I found these results very interesting and motivational for women to stay healthy before and during their pregnancies.
I have found this information to be very informative, thank you for taking your time to study such events..
You know overweight moms are going to scream bloody murder about this, but the ones who breastfeed have no compunction about waxing superior because breastfeeding allegedly makes their children sooooo much smarter than the bottle, formula fed ones.
In other words, cry me a river, ladies.
I’m sure the overweight moms are going to scream bloody murder about this, but the ones who breastfeed have no compunction about waxing superior because breastfeeding allegedly makes their children sooo much smarter than the bottle, formula fed ones.
In other words, cry me a river, ladies.
Well now, I’m 5’2 and 265 pounds and have the only 3 year old I know who plays doctor and diagnosis you with hypertension, AND knows what hypertension means, and can tell you what causes earthquakes. So you can take your article, and stick it right up your skinny bum!
I’m sure what the study meant to say was that smarter women raise smarter children. And smarter/more educated people generally take better care of themselves.
Just like all those “smart” doctors and medical professionals who smoke, huh? Yep, brain smarts does not always equal physical health and vice versa. Life is not so cut-and-dry. Health is not just BMI. All moms should be encouraged to be as healthy as they can be-whatever that means to them in consult with their doctor-but, there is no way that this study is worth considering.
Well put!
Those differences in IQ are incredibly small – probably not meaningful.
Yeah just like being overweight causes autism and congenital heart disease. Give me a freaking break. I was way smaller with my first baby than I was with my others… my first baby has so many issues and my others are just fine… nobody knows the answers so they just always try blame some reason…. next they will say people who have S names will give birth to babies with 3 heads. Really. *smh*
Other studies have shown that nutrition does affect prenatal development. Maybe a more objective study would compare diet as opposed to weight?
It could be that the diets of the more overweight moms was higher in saturated fats and sugars, and lower in nutrients.
This is not an insult to the overweight, it’s medical facts and research.
I agree with you. A crap diet is not good for a developing baby…regardless of the mothers weight.
There are way too many things out there trying to scare overweight women about the risks to their babies’ health. I think the fact that we’re here trying to learn how to keep ourselves and babies healthy is a clue that we’re trying to do what’s right for them. There are women of all different weight levels who have kids with varying health issues and IQ levels. Like people above said, it has more to do with what you’re doing while you’re pregnant than how much you weighed before you got pregnant. My mother was overweight, and my sister and I have both always been at the tops of our classes. A couple reasons for that were that she stayed healthy during pregnancy and cared a lot about our education and well-being in general.
It’s an interesting result (though there’s a lot of information necessary for interpreting the result missing) but we’re talking about a 3 point difference here on a 145+ scale…
I wish the whole study was available for reading, rather than just the abstract. It is rather hard to read those words, whether true or not. I’d like to see the study replicated in other places. Plus, I’ve always had serious doubts about the validity of the BMI scale (which is also the scale that has been on the back of pantyhose boxes for as long as I can remember.) I say this because, even when I get down to my ideal weight, I will still be borderline overweight. And I’m sure that in some instances, skinny women at their ideal weight can be considered underweight. I suppose I have more issues with the BMI measure than the study itself.
But, really, no matter what is true and what is false, no matter what studies come out, we’re all simply doing the best we can with the resources we have.