A European team of scientists with Spanish participation has identified the cause of the problems that hinder the pregnancy of women with obesity . According to research, carried out with cows, the toxic action of fatty acids on the ovum is the trigger for a lower viability of the embryo.
The greater difficulty that mothers with obesity have to conceive children or the problems that can occur in the fetus in these cases have been statistically evidenced by previous studies. In the search for the keys to this phenomenon, a group of scientists from the cities of Hull, in Great Britain, Antwerp, in Belgium, and Madrid, claim to have found the specific cause.
To achieve this, the scientists studied the evolution of cow eggs and the impact that the action of fatty acids, common in overweight women or type 2 diabetes (not dependent on insulin), had on them. When the researchers followed the progress of the eggs of cows that presented these same conditions, they found that they presented alterations that decreased the viability of future embryos. As the embryos reached the state called blastocyst, those exposed to excess fatty acids presented notably deteriorated conditions and less expectations of developing without problems or even reaching parturition.
This excess fat in the mother , according to the authors of this research published in the journal PLoS One, accelerates the metabolism of amino acids and increases the consumption of oxygen, glucose and lactate in the embryo. A less active metabolism in the embryo has been shown to favor the viability of the pregnancy, which obviously, in the cases indicated, the possibilities are reduced. Although this study seems to demonstrate the negative action of excess fatty acids in the embryo, it remains to study how these affect the rest of the gestation process until delivery.
