Caesarean section increases the risk of obesity

Double increased risk of obesity due to incision

26/05/2012

Recent calculations show that more and more women choose cesarean section instead of spontaneous delivery, despite the lack of a medical indication. A sectional birth, however, can significantly increase the risk of numerous diseases of the child, as studies of recent years again and again showed. In addition to the associated increased risk for the development of allergies and asthma and later obesity should be favored, as scientists from Harvard Medical School in Boston by means of a study report. Certain bacteria should play a role in this, according to the researchers.

Double increased risk of obesity
A caesarean section, also known as medical cut birth, is said to increase the risk of obesity by a factor of two. After a three-year study phase, the children examined showed a significantly increased risk of obesity. Responsible for this, according to the scientists, the composition of the intestinal flora of the child to be, by a caesarean section in their development „is disturbed sensitively“. While in a normal birth newborns are positively contaminated by overcoming the vaginal canal with the bacteria, this process does not happen in a sectional birth. The contact with the germs is important, however, to instruct the subsequent intestinal flora, the researchers. In children who were born by caesarean section, the scientists found a larger number of bacterial strains of Firmicutes. These germs have also been found in adults who suffer from severe overweight (obesity).

During the study, a US research team at Harvard Medical School examined data from more than 1,200 mothers and children. The subjects were accompanied from the time of the birth of the child to the third year of life. In the group of incisions, it was found that in comparison with the spontaneous births, the children suffered more often from overweight in the further course.

Higher BMI and abdominal fat thickness as a result
284 children (22.6 percent) were by caesarean section. At the age of 3 years, 15.7% of children were overweight by caesarean section compared to 7.5% of children born vaginally. „After adjusting the data using BMI, birth weight, and other covariate data, there was a greater likelihood of being overweight at age 3 (OR 2.10, 95% CI, 1.36 to 3.23) with a higher BMI Z score ( 0.20 units, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.33), as well as a higher sum of triceps and skinfold thicknesses (0.94 mm, 95% CI 0.36 to 1.51).“ The proportion was 15.7 to 7.5 percent. Thus, the risk of obesity was twice as high as in vaginally delivered children.

Other reasons could be the cause
However, critics complain about the validity of the study. Women who are overweight themselves often have a caesarean section when their baby is born. According to the doctors, obesity preferences are passed on to their children by obese parents. This is due to genetic dispositions and socialized ways of life. In addition, mothers who had a cut birth would breastfeed their babies less often. But just the gift of breast milk prevents subsequent overweight children.

Further studies necessary
„Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and explore the mechanisms of this association“, study leader Dr. Susanna Y. Huh from the Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Children's Hospital Boston. (Sb)

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Image: Dieter Schütz