Can exercising while pregnant lead to more active kids?

Are you a couch potato? Chances are your mom was too (at least when she was pregnant with you).

Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have reported that our willingness to work out may be affected by a mother’s exercise patterns during pregnancy.

Related: This woman eight months pregnant has a six pack that most of us only dream of

In a study published in the FASEB Journal, the researchers found that mice whose mothers ran during pregnancies grew up to be more physically active than mice whose mothers were sedentary.

Mice are generally active creatures and can run up to 9 km a day so the study separated pregnant adult rodents into two different types of cages — one with a locked running wheel and one with an unlocked wheel.

Mice in cages with unlocked wheels were allowed to continue running at will and their activity was monitored throughout the pregnancy. Later on once the offspring were born, they were placed in separate cages away from the adult mice and their activity was monitored too. This was to ensure they would not learn or mimic the behaviours of the adult mice.

The researchers noted that the offspring of the physically active mice were about 50 per cent more active than the offspring of sedentary mice, a trend that continued into adulthood.

While the researchers acknowledged that mice aren’t humans and that environmental factors play a key role in the physical activity of a child (growing up with physically active parents will likely cause children to be more physically active as well), they also point out that recent studies aside from theirs show that there are biological factors at work too.

That said, it may not be possible or beneficial to a mother and child to exercise throughout her pregnancy; but if expectant mothers are able to stay active, according to the advice of her doctor, it may not only improve the mom’s health but offer lifelong benefits for the child as well.