Oct 09, 2014 07:00 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Simple interventions can help avert high birth weights in newborns, according to a new study by the University of Adelaide. The finding is significant because infants with higher birth weight face heightened risk of becoming obese as children or adults.

The researchers said that obesity is one of the largest health problems in the 21^st century. Policies on reducing high infant birth weights should be introduced to fight obesity.

For the study, the researchers followed more than 2,200 obese women during pregnancy. Half of the pregnant women received advice and support to change their eating habits. They were encouraged to increase fruits and vegetables intake, at the same time reducing consumption of foods rich in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats. Women were also cheered to increase their physical activity.

"Infants born to women who received lifestyle advice were 18 percent less likely to have a high birth weight as compared to infants born to women who received standard care," Professor Jodie Dodd said in a press release.

According to a study by the City University of New York and the University of Wyoming, those who are obese at 25 years of age are more likely to suffer from severe weight problems at the age of 35 years or above.

The researchers found that present weight, rather than the duration of obesity, is a better indicator of cardiovascular and metabolic risk. They said that losing weight during any stage of life helps lower health risks, despite duration of the obesity.

"The current findings suggest that the biological risks of longer-term obesity are primarily due to the risk of more severe obesity later in life among those obese early in life, rather than the impact of long-term obesity per se," Associate Professor Jennifer Dowd at the School of Public Health, said in a press release.

"This is good news in some respects, as overweight and obese young adults who can prevent additional weight gain can expect their biological risk factors to be no worse than those who reach the same level of BMI later in life."

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