Looking at the family records for over 90,000 women who were pregnant in Norway between 1999 and 2008, and analysing questionnaire responses completed by mothers and fathers on the state of their physical health during the pregnancy period, researchers linked data to offspring who were subsequently referred and diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition. They found only a weak connection between maternal reports of obesity, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) equal to or above 30, but a stronger correlation between obesity in fathers and subsequent risk of offspring autism. In the case of Asperger syndrome, there was double the risk of an offspring diagnosis when the father was categorised as obese.
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