According to the latest studies in the field, the children whose mothers had larger vitamin D levels in their system during pregnancy have increased chances of developing strong muscles. It is a known fact that insufficient vitamin D leads to low muscle strength both in case of children and adults.
The Importance of the Study
Although researchers know a lot about the effects of vitamin D, little is known about how the vitamin D levels of pregnant women affect the baby. The specialists claim that having low vitamin D levels is quite common among young women. In many cases they don’t take the prescribed dosages during pregnancy either.
The Process
In order for the researchers to reach their conclusions, they worked with 678 mothers. Because of the large number of mothers who took part in the research, this is considered to be one of the largest of this kind. They measured the mother’s vitamin D levels during the late stages of their pregnancy. After this, when their children reached the age of 4, the researchers measured their muscle mass and grip strength.
Results
The researchers have found that the higher the vitamin D levels of the mother, the stronger the grip strength of the child. Besides this, there might also be a connection between the muscle mass and the vitamin D levels of the mother, but this is less obvious.
What do the Specialists have to say?
The researchers believe that they took an important step regarding the children’s health. As we all know it, muscle strength has an important role to play in the development of children. Muscle strength reaches a peak during young adulthood, after which it starts to decline.
Health Conditions
If the strength of the grip in young adulthood is low, it might be associated with different health problems, such as falls, diabetes, and fractures. It is possible that in case the mothers have high vitamin D levels and the children have high muscle strength, they will be able to avoid different health conditions during their life.
Doctors usually suggest pregnant women to take vitamin D supplements or multivitamin supplements that come with vitamin D. However, a lot of women don’t take these suggestions seriously and they fail to introduce enough vitamin D into their body. Thanks to this research, now we know what the outcome might be. These results ought to raise awareness among women to be more careful regarding their health.
