Autism May Be Linked To Mother's Obesity During Pregnancy

Autism Speaks

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests. It's among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn't prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Read more here.

MSNBC Interview With Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin knows she’s different. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. In 1950, Grandin was diagnosed with autism. The disorder, seen in about 1 in 110 U.S. kids, spans a range of complex neurodevelopmental problems: an inability to make social connections, language difficulties and bizarre, repetitive behaviors. There is no known cause or cure. Some children may have a mild form of the disorder, yet have difficulties holding down a job in adulthood. Others may never be able to live on their own.

And some, like Grandin, defy the odds.

Now actress Claire Danes is playing Grandin in an HBO movie airing on Saturday. The film "Temple Grandin" is based upon Grandin's memoirs, "Emergence" and "Thinking in Pictures." That’s heady stuff for a woman who admits that at age 62 she still relates better to animals than she does to humans. She talks to msnbc.com about how autism affects her life, a life that she believes is different, but not less.

Read the rest of the interview at MSNBC

Via Jezebel