Obesity in pregnancy related to telomere length

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A new study in BMC Medicine has found that a woman's pre-pregnancy BMI is associated with shorter telomere lengths in newborns. This sets telomere length for later life and could mean that these babies are not as well-protected from age related diseases as babies born to mothers with a lower BMI.

If (like me) you need a simple explanation of the function of telomeres and exactly what this research is all about, it is useful to read Jocelyn Wright's article in The Conversation, Babies born to overweight mothers more likely to get age-related diseases sooner.

Dries S. Martens et al. (2016) Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index and newborn telomere length. BMC Medicine 14:148. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-016-0689-0