Newborns of obese mums set for heart problems: Study

PARIS (AFP) - Newborn babies of overweight or obese mothers have a thickening of the aorta, something that in later life is linked to heart disease, a small Australian study said on Wednesday.

The arterial thickening occurred regardless of the child's weight at birth, according to the paper, published in a specialist edition of the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Doctors in Melbourne asked 23 expectant mothers to take part in the investigation.

The women's body mass was measured, and within seven days of birth, the doctors measured the baby's abdominal aorta, the body's main artery, using ultrasound.