Mothers who eat a Western diet may have obese children

New research in rats suggests that children could have a higher risk of obesity if their mothers eat a Western diet around the time of conception and during pregnancy. Photo: AFP

A mother's diet around the time of pregnancy and conception could influence whether or not her children become obese, according to new research from the United States.

Carried out by a team from The Scripps Research Institute, the researchers looked at two groups of rats – one selectively bred to be obesity-resistant to a high-fat diet and one bred to be unusually vulnerable.