Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

[Sgent]

Source: USA Today

CHICAGO – Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-04-09/Autism-obesity-pregnancy/54126558/1

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[saras]

2. When did autism get to be a single thing instead of the result of many genes?

And for that matter, when did it get to be, as they seem to want, anything-that-makes-you-not-a-sheeple gets called "autistic spectrum disorder" for which the only reason is to authorize the same "treatment" for all of them.

Not to mention that ALL the variations get defined as "disorders" rather than differences, when some of them don't DISable people in any way,but provide extra abilities.

[aquart]

3. What "extra abilities"?

[dipsydoodle]

6. Example here

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2005/feb/12/weekend7.weekend2

and here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Wiltshire

I only used English examples because they were ones I knew of - doubtless there are many others worldwide.

[HockeyMom]

4. In my experience working with Austic kids

I think AGE is more of a factor. I don't mean just older mothers, but older fathers as well.

[OhioChick]

5. I know of a woman that's as thin as a bean pole and has 4 kids with autism n/t

[dipsydoodle]

17. My sister wasn't fat either

and two of three sons are autistic in varying degrees athough they have learned to cope through the years. My sister has studied this subject in depth as part of her degree and the background appears to be more hereditary i.e. genetic.

[lovuian]

7. So it is the woman's fault ...Blame the woman

that is crap and total stupidity
I think we have had obese women centuries ago and they had kids

[former9thward]

8. Very very few obese women centuries ago.

Autism is on the rise and so is obesity. Seem natural there is a connection though it does not surprise me some want to be in denial about it.

[Thor_MN]

9. Well, if there is more than a genetic component

i.e. an environmental component during gestation, it's pretty hard to pin that on males. Not fair, I know, but that's the way these baby things get here.

[JoeyT]

11. Yeah, first they tried

"Refrigerator Mothers", and that didn't stick. So now it's on to "UR FAT LOL!".

The study isn't particularly well done, too much room for both error and bias, but it blames fat people and women, so it's a two-fer.

[AndyTiedye]

10. It Could Work the Other Way Around

Autistic kids are more likely to be born to parents who are on the autistic spectrum themselves.
Are they more likely to be obese because they use eating as a "stim", and/or have poor coordination/motor skills?

[harun]

16. Exactly, they are over simplifying.

[lunatica]

12. Whenever a link seems to be indicated just keep up the studies and research.

That's how cures are found.

[green juice]

13. Absolute joke.

Did you know it's been linked to antidepressants? The last twenty years have seen docs passing them out like candy to patients and so it gibes with the epidemic we're seeing

[Sgent]

14. I don't know of anyone

who recommends anti-depressents to pregnant women or those wishing to become pregnant. There maybe some exceptions for those with a prior history of suicide attempts or hospitalizations, but anti-depressents are Category C and have been linked in animal studies to heart defects.

[BlueIris]

15. People rarely miss an opportunity to bash overweight women.

Even and perhaps especially in the medical and scientific community.

I am now extremely skeptical of anything that aspires to 'link' obesity to anything. People who have high BMI have become scapegoats for just about everything these days. I would consider this study and any other with a wary eye for that reason.