Maternal obesity refers to obesity (often including being overweight) of a woman during pregnancy. Parental obesity refers to obesity of either parent during pregnancy. Maternal obesity has a significant impact on maternal metabolism and offspring development. Insulin resistance, glucose homeostasis, fat oxidation and amino acid synthesis are all disrupted by maternal obesity and contribute to adverse outcomes. Modification of lifestyle is an effective intervention strategy for improvement of maternal metabolism and the prevention of adverse outcomes. Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. A 5-foot-5-inch tall woman would be considered obese if she weighs 180 pounds or more and a 5-foot-8-inch tall woman would be considered obese if she weighs 200 pounds or more. Effects on the fetus Defects/ impairments Between 18 and 38% of pregnant women of American women are classified as obese. However, little is known about the link between maternal obesity and diabetic effects in offspring. Maternal obesity is associated with increased odds of pregnancies affected by congenital anomalies, including neural tube defects and spina bifida. The chances of having neural tube defects in the newborn of an obese woman has been shown to be twice that of a non-obese pregnant female. Some other anomalies that were increased among mothers with obesity included septal anomalies, cleft palate, cleft lip and palate, anorectal atresia, hydrocephaly, and limb reduction anomalies. Babies are also more likely to be admitted to neonatal intensive care units because of effects from the obese mother. Each year, nearly 2,500 babies are born with these defects, and many other affected pregnancies end in miscarriage and stillbirth. Mental or physical effects on the fetus Maternal obesity is linked with elective preterm delivery, neonatal death, and delivery of an extremely low birth weight infant. In follow-up studies of babies whose birth weights were below 1000g, it was shown that 40% to 45% of the survivors had severe neurodevelopmental impairments. It has been demonstrated through a study on rats that when a pregnant mother ate a diet rich in fat, sugar, and salt, that mother's offspring was more likely to overeat and have a preference for junk food. Even when the offspring were not given the option of junk food, their bodies metabolized food differently from offspring whose mother ate healthier. Offspring of mothers who ate badly had higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in their bloodstream and higher risk of