Children of Mothers Who Smoked During Pregnancy Face High Obesity Risk

Pregnant women who smoke may be sentencing their child to adolescent obesity, in part due to subtle structural variations in the child's amygdala. Researchers presented in the online September 3 Archives of General Psychiatry the results of their evaluation of 378 adolescents enrolled in the Saguenay Youth Study in Quebec, Canada. Half of the subjects were exposed prenatally to maternal cigarette smoking, and those teens exhibited a higher total body fat than peers who were not exposed. They also exhibited a lower amygdala volume. Consistent with its possible role in limiting fat intake,...

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Published By: Psychiatric News - Tuesday, 11 September