A new study finds that children who are born via c-section are more likely to become obese than those born naturally.
The study was conducted in the New York University. Conducted on mice, it found that rodents born via c-section are more likely to have an unbalanced amount of good and bad bacteria in their stomachs, which basically increases their chances of gaining weight.
Researchers are hopeful that the study will curb unnecessary caesareans and bring down growing obesity rates.
The study found mice that were born via a c-section put on about 30 percent more weight than their counterparts who'd had a natural birth.
Researchers credit it to a difference in bacteria found in the stomachs of two groups of mice. The microbiome, which houses such bacteria, in mice born vaginally progressed normally throughout the course of the study.
However, that of mice born by c-section, matured too quickly at first and then regressed later in their lives.
According to study author Dr Maria Dominguez-Bello, this the first such study to demonstrate a causal relationship between c-section and increased body weight in mammals.
