Mom-to-be beware! Consuming fizzy drinks during pregnancy may make your child obese

New Delhi: Mothers-to-be take note. A new study has found that women who consume fizzy drinks during pregnancy are more likely to have chubby babies.

The finding found that pregnant women who consume just two fizzy drinks a day before childbirth could increase their child’s risk of becoming obese.

As per a report in Deccan Chronical, the study stated that having two sugary drinks a day during a woman’s second trimester increases a child’s BMI and waist circumference at seven years old.

The research further states that every sugar-laden drink that a woman consumes during this period adds 0.15 kg/m2 fat mass to her child.

Fruit juice, diet drinks and water do not have similar effects on child, said the researchers.

Sheryl Rifas-Shiman, author of the study from Harvard University said, 'Childhood obesity is widespread and hard to treat and thus it is important to realise which are the modifiable factors that occur before the birth of the child and during infancy so that mothers can start preventive measures early on'.

Over thousand mother-child pairs have been analyzed by the researchers from Harvard University before coming to the conclusion.

The findings were published in the journal Pediatrics.