IVF babies more likely to become overweight

08 July 2017

Experts claim that ‘test tube’ infants’ genes are altered through the process.

Babies born through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment are more likely to be overweight, new research has discovered.

Experts from Maastricht University in the Netherlands claim that ‘test tube’ infants’ genes are altered through the process and they weigh on average 1.5 pounds (700grams) more than babies conceived naturally by nine years old.

It’s thought youngsters hold onto fat when not starting out in their mother’s tummy, leading them to become heavier as time goes on.

Read more: IVF causing women to ‘delay motherhood’

To come to their conclusions, the researchers looked at 136 children born through IVF in the Netherlands. Focusing on youths aged nine-and-a-half and of average height, it was found that they came in at 1.5 pounds heavier than those of the same age and stature who didn’t begin life in a laboratory.

The hormones in which women take in order to harvest their eggs could be the reason why the cells in the embryo change, causing the babies to store more fat.

“This is enough of a weight difference to be concerning because overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults. We think IVF children may be predisposed to cardiovascular problems, including heart problems, in later life. They may be programmed wrongly by IVF to store food as fat throughout their lives,” lead researcher Dr. Heleen Zandstra said.

Read more: First born children more likely to be overweight

Referring to the chemicals used during IVF, Dr. Zandstra noted it may mean infants are born smaller, but the weight issues will emerge later down the line.

“(The chemicals) might change the way the baby absorbs nutrients, or how the placenta passes them on,” she added. “At an older age, this may cause a child born smaller to store more food as fat, because their body wants to make sure they get enough.”

The study was presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Geneva.

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