Nightly News   |  April 09, 2012

Autism linked to maternal obesity

Researchers have found that women who are obese are 1.6 times more likely to have a baby with autism or some other developmental disorder. NBC’s Robert Bazell reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> new study out tonight at the top of the broadcast, raising provocative questions about the possible link about obesity in mothers and autism in their children. science correspondent robert bazell has the report.

>> who's a smart guy ?

>> me.

>> yes, you are.

>> one more piece of the gigantic puzzle called autism. scientists have found that women who were obese are 1.6 times as likely to have a baby with autism or some other developmental disorder and twice as liky if they have deebs. but they emphasis the study of the mothers of about 1,000 kids is an observation, not scientific broof of cause and effect .

>> if you are planning a pregnancy, you may think about losing weight and getting your exercise routine in order, and making sure you are controlling your blood sugar .

>> everything is going good?

>> dr. anna sanchez in st. joseph hospital in orange county , california, has been working for years to get pregnant women to keep their weight under control.

>> perfect.

>> because overweight moms can have kids with many health problems. she says the latest results only add to the urgency.

>> if people are overweight when they start the pregnancy, they should gain less than the recommended weight gain .

>> that's a tall order when two thirds of american women are already overweight and half of those are obese. even if they were found to be causes of autism, that could only account for a fraction of the cases. by studying the possibility connection, scientists hope to learn more about what causes autism and ways to reduce the risk. robert