After all, while important and necessary, trying to reverse the trend of overweight kids is far more difficult than preventing an unhealthy weight in the first place.

If you don’t have children yet, you may be wondering what all this talk of warding off excess weight in kids has to do with you. Plenty.

Future mothers, listen up.  It’s possible to influence your child’s weight well before you get pregnant.  Your body weight at conception may affect your child’s well-being for his entire lifetime.

Research shows that overweight moms tend to deliver babies with more fat. In addition, children of overweight moms tend to become overweight during their early years.

A recent study in the March 1 issue of Pediatrics found that when mom is overweight at the time of conception, the risk of obesity in her toddler and preschooler increases.

A December, 2005 study, also in Pediatrics, concluded that mom’s weight within a month of conceiving had the greatest influence on a child’s weight at ages 3, 5, and 7.  If a woman was overweight before pregnancy occurred, her son or daughter was up to three times more likely to be overweight (overweight was defined as having a Body Mass Index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile) by age 7 compared to a child whose mother was of normal weight. The more overweight the mom, the greater the chance of overweight and obesity at a young age for a child.

Not surprisingly, in the 2005 Pediatrics study, 75% of the children who were at a normal weight at age 7, the last time the children were weighed, had always been at a normal weight.  The 2010 research linked a poor diet, including fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages, insufficient sleep and televisions in childrens’ bedrooms to children becoming overweight during early childhood.

So, what’s a potential mom to do? First find out if your weight is within a normal range. See my post about body weight before pregnancy and weight gain when expecting.

Already pregnant? Not to worry.  Talk with your doctor or midwife about the Institute of Medicine’s guidelines for weight gain and work out a weight gain plan that’s right for you.

Have you seen my other blog at USAToday.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and offers a weekly recipe that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids.  This week’s recipe is Corn Chowder. It’s wonderful for cool Spring evenings, and so easy to make.  Check out the recipe at http://tinyurl.com/4×2e5x.

MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks the nerves.  MS causes fatigue, vision loss, tingling, and numbness, among other problems.  Most victims of MS are adult women.

Researchers analyzed data from a 16-year period of the Nurses’ Mothers’ Study, which included nearly 36,000 nurse-mother pairs.   They found that, overall, higher consumption of milk, which is particularly rich in vitamin D,  during pregnancy was related to a lower risk of having a daughter who went on to develop MS.

The potential protective relationship between vitamin D intake and a lower risk of MS is not new, but this is the first time that the protective effects of vitamin D on developing babies has been demonstrated.  While the news about milk’s potential protection against MS is positive, it’s inconclusive. The study showed an association between milk drinking and MS prevention, but it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), there is a strong link between a baby’s blood levels of vitamin D and mom’s vitamin D intake. In the Harvard study, mothers with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood - supposedly because they drank the most milk - had a lower risk of having a daughter who developed MS.

Vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of the bone-building mineral calcium, and for maintaining proper levels of calcium in the blood. Vitamin D is good for mom, too: it’s been linked to a lower risk for breast and ovarian cancer, and a stronger immune system.

Pregnant women need 200 International Units (IU) of vitamin D daily, and possibly, much more: there’s a good chance that the suggested levels will increase when the Institute of Medicine releases revised guidelines for vitamin D later this year.

In the Harvard study, women who got the equivalent of at least 400 IU of vitamin D daily from milk had the lowest risk of having daughters with MS.  Most prenatal vitamins and regular multivitamins contain 400 IU. Don’t worry about getting more than 200 IU a day, but do limit your intake of vitamin D to 2,000 IU from foods and supplements, combined.

With the exception of seafood and eggs, few foods naturally contain vitamin D.  Three and a half ounces of cooked salmon offers 360 IU; three ounces of canned tuna, 200 IU; and a large, cooked egg, 20 IU.  Fortified milk is perhaps the most commonly-consumed highly concentrated food source of  vitamin D. Eight ounces of fortified milk supplies 100 IU of vitamin D. (Fortified orange juice has the same amount.)

If you’re not a fan of milk “straight up,” add milk to your diet with these tips:

• Prepare instant oatmeal and other cooked cereals in the microwave with milk instead of water. Do the same for condensed soups.

• Snack on cereal and low-fat milk.

• Make Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, found in Expect the Best, Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, & After Pregnancy.

• Whip up a delicious dessert by blending 1 medium banana, 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup, and one ice cube in a food processor or blender for 1 to 2 minutes or until frothy. Drink immediately.

Lactose intolerant? Try Lactaid milk; it’s 100% lactose-free.

Recently, researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that 55% of the samples of canned tuna from the top three brands in the US contain mercury levels higher than the Environmental Protection Agency allows as safe; 5% of those samples had levels higher than the safety level set by the FDA for commercially-sold fish. White (albacore) tuna from all three brands harbored the highest mercury concentrations.  Canned light tuna has much less mercury than canned white tuna, but it is also much lower in omega-3 fats, particularly the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that your child needs for brain development and peak vision.  Studies show that pregnant and nursing moms with higher intakes of DHA have children with better vision and better cognitive function.

Oddly enough, canned tuna, a favorite of Americans, is not one of the four fish to completely steer clear of when you’re in the baby-making stage of life. (The fish to avoid are swordfish, king mackerel, tilefish, and shark.) Tuna sold in cans is most often from older species with higher methylymercury levels.  However, the FDA does recommend eating six ounces or less of canned white (albacore) tuna a week if you’re capable of becoming pregnant, an amount that should be counted in the 12-ounce-a-week suggested limit of seafood.

Tuna lovers, don’t despair!  It is possible for you and your children to safely enjoy canned tuna, without guilt or worry.  Wild Planet sells wild albacore tuna with more DHA, and far less mercury than the major brands and store brands. How is that possible? I was wondering that myself when I picked up a can at the store the other day.  I visited their excellent web site and found the answers I was looking for.  Wild Planet wild albacore tuna is from smaller fish who’ve had less time to accumulate mercury in their bodies.  Also, the tuna is cooked in the can and the omega-3s, including DHA, stay in the can; they are not drained off and replaced by vegetable oil or water.

Wild Planet tuna costs about twice as much, but it’s worth every penny because the fish is safer to eat, you get more DHA for you and your child, and the fish are sustainably caught.  If you ate one can of Wild Planet wild albacore tuna every week, you’d consume an average of 331 milligrams of DHA daily.  Health experts recommend at least 200 milligrams of DHA a day when you’re pregnant and nursing.

There’s no reason to stop eating tuna if you’re expecting, nursing, or otherwise in the baby-making years.  Even with all the caveats, it’s likely that the benefits of consuming low-risk seafood, such as Wild Planet wild albacore tuna, outweigh the potential harm to your child, and to yourself.

Have you seen my other blog at USAToday.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and offers a weekly recipe that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids.  This week’s recipe is Pumpkin Pancakes. They’re delicious, and good for you, too! Check out the recipe at http://tinyurl.com/4×2e5x.

I asked Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen, MS, RD to be a guest blogger because I love her web site, www.RaiseHealthyEaters.com. She provides great information about feeding families (she’s a mom, too!) in a fun and informative way. If you don’t need her now, you will!

Why Mom’s Nutrition May Be the Most Important of All

What happens when you go from pregnant to mom?  All of that time and effort you took to eat and sleep properly, move more and take care of that baby bump is over.  Where do you go from here?

I’ll be straight with you.  As a new mother you’ll be tempted to put yourself last on the list.  But it’s a trap you don’t want to fall into because it backfires on every level.

Here are key reasons why eating a healthy diet should take top priority in your household now, and in the years to come.

1.  Your body is recovering: Your body has been put through the ringer.  Not only have you housed a baby for 9 months, but you likely went through the equivalent of a marathon (or two) to get him or her out.  And whether it was a vaginal delivery or a c-section, your body needs some TLC, rest and good nutrition to heal.

So take up the offer from anyone who’s willing to bring food over, help clean the house, or watch the baby while you sleep.  Don’t worry about your life outside of the baby, it’ll still be there.  Enjoy all the help while you can.

2. Breastfeeding nutrition: New mothers often forget that nutrition after pregnancy is still very important, especially if you breastfeed. Here are some messages I found in chapter 5 of Expect the Best, Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and After Pregnancy.

-Breastfeeding women have higher nutrition needs so include eggs, chicken, meat, beans, fish, whole grains and plenty of fruits and veggies with meals. See My Pyramid for diet specifics. http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramidmoms/breastfeeding_nutrition_needs.html

-Continue to take your prenatal vitamin and when you run out, replace it with a daily multivitamin.

-If you don’t eat fish twice a week, take fish oil supplements with 200 milligrams of DHA per serving (one pill a day is fine).  DHA is a healthy fat that is vital for your baby’s developing brain.

-Keep caffeine intake moderate (200 milligrams a day or less) and drink alcoholic beverages on occasion, not on a regular basis.

- Breast milk is low in vitamin D so supplement your baby with 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D every day, as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.  Try Carlson’s vitamin D baby drops.

3. You’ve upped your status to role model: On my blog, www.RaiseHealthyEaters.com, I write about moms as healthy role models for their children.  I believe the incredible love we have for our children can inspire change (including eating a healthier diet!) like nothing else can.  Not only do we want our kids to be healthy, but, when we have children, there’s no better reason to stay healthy and strong for as long as possible.

According to a study published in the American Journal of Preventative Health, married women with at least one child gained more weight over 10 years than women without children.  I completely understand how the weight can creep on. When you mix some extra leftover pounds from pregnancy with less time to work out and eat the way you should, you have a recipe for excess weight.

So when you’re done with recovery, start finding ways to be active, and to eat better. For every fruit and vegetable you feed your baby, eat one yourself.  Get back in touch with your hunger and fullness signals while learning how to preserve those of your children.  Instead of lamenting about having less time to dedicate to your health, be creative about building wellness into your busy day.

4. You’ll be a better mom: Moms who take care of themselves are happier and better able to handle the challenges of motherhood.

Bottom line: Making yourself a priority is not selfish, it’s vital to being the best mom you can be.

Maryann Tomovich Jacobsen is a registered dietitian, mother of two and creator of www.RaiseHealthyEaters.com, a blog dedicated to providing parents with the most credible nutrition advice.

There’s no one magical number of pregnancy pounds that every woman should gain, so it doesn’t pay to compare your weight gain to another woman’s.  Here’s what’s best for you and your baby: starting pregnancy at a healthy weight and putting on pounds within ranges  recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Suggested weight gain ranges during pregnancy are based on your prepregnancy Body Mass Index (BMI).

Experts, like the IOM panel, don’t pull their weight gain guidelines out of thin air. They spend a lot of time reviewing the research about how prepregnancy body weight, weight gain during pregnancy, and a combination of the two, affect your health when pregnant, and your child’s short-term, and long-term health, too.

Here’s what the IOM suggests for weight gain, based on prepregnancy BMI. Visit www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi to figure your BMI. It takes about 10 seconds.

Prepregnancy BMI:        Gain (single baby):               Gain (twins):

<18.5                                        28 to 40 pounds                          no data available to make a recommendation

18.5 - 24.9                               25 to 35 pounds                           37 to 54 pounds

25.0 - 29.9                              15 to 25 pounds                            31 to 50 pounds

≥ 30                                                       11 to 20 pounds                            25 to 42 pounds

Source: IOM, 2009

For more on weight gain during pregnancy, read this article I wrote for WebMD.com at www.webmd.com/baby/guide/pregnancy-weight-gain-guidelines

Have you seen my other blog at USAToday.com?  It features tips for feeding your family healthy foods, and offers a weekly recipe that I prepare with my children as part of Cooking With My Kids.  This week’s recipe is Asian Express Beef Lettuce Wraps. They’re delicious, and they’re on the table in well under 30 minutes! Check out the recipe at http://tinyurl.com/4×2e5x.