Maternal obesity during pregnancy is an important public health problem in Western countries. Currently, obesity prevalence rates in pregnant women are estimated to be as high as 30%. In addition, approximately 40% of women gain an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy in Western countries. An accumulating body of evidence suggests a long-term impact of maternal obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy on adiposity, cardiovascular and metabolic related health outcomes in the offspring in fetal life, childhood and adulthood. In this review, we discuss results from recent studies, potential underlying mechanisms and challenges for future epidemiological studies.
Keywords: Adult cardiovascular risk factors; Adverse pregnancy outcomes; Childhood cardiovascular risk factors; Childhood obesity; Excessive gestational weight gain; Fetal death; Maternal obesity.