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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Year : 2014  |  Volume : 3  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 107

Throwing light on excessive fat consumption in pregnancy


Department of Pharmacology, Bhagat Phool Singh Government Medical College for Women, Khanpur Kalan, Sonepat, Haryana, India

Date of Web Publication6-May-2014

Correspondence Address:
Garima Bhutani
H. no. 517, Sector 15 A, Hisar, Haryana
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/2278-019X.131965

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How to cite this article:
Bhutani G, Verma PP. Throwing light on excessive fat consumption in pregnancy. J Med Nutr Nutraceut 2014;3:107

How to cite this URL:
Bhutani G, Verma PP. Throwing light on excessive fat consumption in pregnancy. J Med Nutr Nutraceut [serial online] 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 28];3:107. Available from: http://www.jmnn.org/text.asp?2014/3/2/107/131965

Sir,

There has been an age-old tradition of excessive fat consumption by Indian pregnant females in the last month of pregnancy. Many a times, insisted by mother and mother in law, pregnant females take large quantities of ghee (clarified butter) in warm milk or in meals or in form of laddoos and panjiri (shallow fried sweetened wheat flour). Drinking ghee is traditionally believed to lead to uterine contractions by irritating the bowel and also help to lubricate the vagina, thus, aiding in smooth delivery. But there is little or no concrete scientific evidence to back up these beliefs. On the contrary, excessive ghee consumption can lead to obesity in pregnant females that increases the chances of gestational diabetes, hypertension, and pre-eclampsia. [1] The extra pounds piled up on the body become very difficult to shed even postdelivery. This not only poses aesthetic problems, but also adds to the risk of diabetes [2] and cardiovascular problems [3] in later life. Also too much weight gain by the fetus can lead to increased chances of birth trauma and caesarean sections. Such babies are also at higher risk of suffering from obesity and diabetes in subsequent life. [4] While the medicinal value of ghee as claimed by ayurveda cannot be neglected, but the right quantity that should be taken needs to be emphasized. Hence, there is a pressing need to educate pregnant women and their relatives about inherent dangers that maternal overeating poses to the mother and child's future health. The myth about drinking ghee has to be busted so as to prevent the females and children falling prey to the obesity pandemic.

 
  References Top

1.
Gaillard R, Durmuº B, Hofman A, Mackenbach JP, Steegers EA, Jaddoe VW. Risk factors and outcomes of maternal obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2013;21:1046-55.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Neeland IJ, Turer AT, Ayers CR, Powell-Wiley TM, Vega GL, Farzaneh-Far R, et al. Dysfunctional adiposity and the risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in obese adults. JAMA 2012;308:1150-9.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Lavie CJ, Milani RV, Ventura HO. Obesity and cardiovascular disease: Risk factor, paradox, and impact of weight loss. J Am Coll Cardiol 2009;53:1925-32.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Tenenbaum-Gavish K, Hod M. Impact of maternal obesity on fetal health. Fetal Diagn Ther 2013;34:1-7.  Back to cited text no. 4
    




 

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