Bariatric surgery (an operation that tends to modify the digestive system to restrict the absorption of food and therefore calorie intake) is the most effective method for lasting weight loss. But its use does not seem recommended for women wishing to have children.
A scientific study conducted at the University of Cincinnati (United States) warns of the possible harmful effects, for unborn children, of the use of vertical gastrectomy in the mother, also called “sleeve” gastrectomy, a technique of bariatric surgery. .
Professor Bernadette Grayson, researcher at the Cincinnati Diabetes and Obesity Center and co-author of the study says that “ the use of bariatric surgery would therefore not be ideal, when the choice is possible, for the health of future children “.
The study conducted on rats made obese and operated by vertical gastrectomy concludes that bariatric surgery creates many medical risks for the offspring.
While the operated female rats lost weight, regained a normal reproductive cycle, and improved their blood sugar levels, the baby rats were born very low in weight. At puberty, their growth was altered and slowed down, and they developed a greater propensity to store fat, and an intolerance to glucose.
Overweight and obesity, defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an abnormal or excessive accumulation of body fat that can be harmful to health does not only have harmful effects on the body of the pregnant woman , but also on that of his children. According to a study published by the British Medical Journal, children born to obese mothers have a 35% increased risk of dying prematurely in adulthood compared to those born to mothers with normal body mass index (BMI).
The conclusions of this study were published by the American scientific journal “Science Translational Medicine”.
