U of C research says prebiotics can reduce obesity during pregnancy
Posted Mar 2, 2016 12:45 pm.
Last Updated Mar 2, 2016 12:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new University of Calgary study may have found the way to avoid obesity during pregnancy.
Researcher Dr. Raylene Reimer gave prebiotics – found in food like yogurt or sauerkraut – helped to reduce fat in pregnant rats who were on a high fat and sugar diet.
Those taking the supplement ate less and by the end, the mother had 33 per cent of body fat, with newborn rats at 30 per cent less.
Researchers haven yet to study the results in pregnant women.
“It helps with controlling appetite and you can get some reductions in body weight and importantly, body fat, but it’s not the 33 per cent that you see in the rats,” Reimer said.
She said this is an important step forward in opening up a dialogue when it comes to obesity during pregnancy.
