Obese during pregnancy increase risk 67% of having child with autism.

You may not be aiming for the cover of a magazine, but if you decide to pack on the pounds excessively during pregnancy, this could have devastating consequences for your offspring - far beyond any vanity concerns for your waistline.

Now here's one good reason to stay in shape for more than vanity reasons; especially if you're even thinking of multiplying yourself and giving your offspring a better future:

New study on women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children.

They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Reference:

J American Academy of Pediatrics. Maternal Metabolic Conditions and Risk for Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Krakowiak P. et al.