They found that the risk of obesity for under fives jumped by 59 per cent if they had been delivered through a c-section. The youngsters were also 21 per cent more likely to develop asthma by the age of 12.People with obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves, since they inherit fat genes and learn a calorie-laden lifestyle. I remind the gentle reader the direction of causality is unclear in correlational studies, which this appears to be.
Scientists said there was growing evidence that c-sections influence the development of the immune system and gut bacteria. And many women have the procedure because they themselves are obese, which also influences their baby’s health.
30 years ago only one in 10 babies were born through c-section but that has now risen to around one in four - around 160,000 babies a year.
The article says C-sections cause obesity. However, it may well be that obesity causes C-sections, or both may be caused by some third factor unmentioned, perhaps unknown.
