Children of mothers that had high blood sugar levels (gestational diabetes or Type 2 diabetes) during their pregnancy run a higher risk of reduced insulin sensitivity, according to an article from Medical News Today.
Reduced insulin sensitivity is one of the major factors for Type 2 diabetes, a disease that is growing rampantly throughout the world. Type 2 diabetes is disease in which the body does not properly use insulin, the hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the amount of sugar in the blood. Excess sugar in the blood can cause a number of short-term and long-term complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputations and kidney disease.
Researchers measured the insulin sensitivity of 21 kids ages 5 to 10 years old. They also looked at the medical records of the mothers from the time of their pregnancies to determine their blood sugar levels. What they found was that the higher the mother’s blood sugar levels during pregnancy, the lower their child’s insulin sensitivity. People with Type 2 have reduced insulin sensitivity.
Obesity is often associated with decreased insulin sensitivity, but the researchers noted the correlation between the mother’s blood sugar levels and the child’s reduced insulin sensitivity was independent of weight.
Lastly, the study also showed that kids exposed to higher sugar levels in the womb also showed exaggerated insulin production after meals.
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