Newborns of overweight mothers show first signs of heart disease

Babies born to mothers who are overweight or obese show signs of arterial thickening in the aorta, the body’s major artery, according to a new study.

The babies of overweight mothers showed arterial thickening, the earliest physical sign of atherosclerosis (early heart disease), regardless of birth weight.

The findings suggest that mothers who are overweight or obese may place their children at higher risk in adulthood of having heart attacks and strokes, irrespective of whether or not the children themselves are obese.