Obesity, which can be tackled by regular exercise in gym wear, increases the likelihood of women giving birth to babies with congenital heart defects, a recent study has suggested.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health in the US and the New York state Department of Health discovered that obese women are around 15 per cent more likely to have a baby with defects than those of a normal weight.

This risk increases the more obese a woman is, with moderately obese women 11 per cent more likely to have a child with a heart defect and morbidly obese women 33 per cent more likely.

"The current findings strongly suggest that by losing weight before they become pregnant, obese women may reduce the chances that their infants will be born with heart defects," said Dr Alan Guttmacher, of the NIH Institute that conducted the study.

According to the NHS, nearly a quarter of adults in the UK were obese in 2008. It suggests regular exercise, perhaps in ladies running clothing, as one of the best ways of targeting the problem.

Posted by Tina Wilson ADNFCR-2569-ID-19713080-ADNFCR

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