Regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy is likely to reduce a baby’s birth weight and reduce the risk of obesity later in childhood.
The team of researchers from the University of Auckland and Northern Arizona University, divided 84 mothers into two groups. One group exercised regularly and one control group. The women in the exercise group were instructed to perform 40 minutes of exercise on an exercise bike no more than five times a week. The routine had to continue until at least the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy.
After measuring birth weights and body mass indexes (BMI) of the babies within 48 hours of birth the results showed the babies of the women from the exercise group were approximately 0.32 pounds lighter than those of the women in the control group. The findings show that regular aerobic exercise has an impact resulting in a reduction in baby birth weight.