Active Moms, Smarter Kids?If pregnant women exercise regularly, do their babies grow up to be smarter? That was the hypothesis of a recent study from Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center (Cleveland, OH). The study compared twenty expectant mothers expectant mother n → futura madre f expectant mother expect n → werdende Mutter f expectant mother n who exercised regularly (aerobics aerobics (ârō`biks), [Gr.,=with oxygen], system of endurance exercises that promote cardiovascular fitness by producing and sustaining an elevated heart rate for a prolonged period of time, thereby pumping an increased amount of oxygen-rich , running, cross-country skiing cross-country skiing Skiing in open country over rolling, hilly terrain. It originated in Scandinavia as a means of travel as well as recreation. The skies used are longer, narrower, and lighter than those used in Alpine skiing, and bindings allow more heel movement. ) to twenty inactive pregnant women. Comparisons were made at the time of birth and then when the children were age five. Although this preliminary study was small, researchers revealed two similarities about the children. First, the children of the women who exercised regularly weighed less and had less body fat than the children of the women who did not exercise regularly. And, secondly, the children of the sedentary sedentary /sed·en·tary/ (sed´en-tar?e) 1. sitting habitually; of inactive habits. 2. pertaining to a sitting posture. sedentary of inactive habits; pertaining to a fat, castrated or confined animal. women scored lower on standard intellectual tests, including the area of oral-language skills. James F. Clapp III, M.D., believes that the result of the pregnant mom's exercise--the motions, vibrations, sounds, and increased heart rate--altered the infants' neurodevelopment while in the womb womb n. See uterus. womb uterus. . --American Baby, January 1998 |
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