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Microwave use during pregnancy causes obesity in future children
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Children whose mothers were exposed to high magnetic levels during pregnancy have an increased risk of developing obesity, even in the first years of their lives – this is the conclusion reached recently by American researchers.
In total, they analyzed the condition of 733 pregnant women and their children up to the age of 13. Each of them was weighed 33 times during this period and was examined for obesity of varying degrees. High levels of electromagnetic fields were assessed as relatively moderate and relatively high. In the first case, we are talking about a situation where the child in the womb was only occasionally, on average no more than once a week, exposed to high levels of electromagnetic fields.
However, even here the risk growth rates were quite significant – the probability of obesity in a child increased by 50% compared to normal rates. If in the womb he was exposed to relatively high levels of electromagnetic fields from a microwave oven – about two to three times a week for a short period of time (from 30 seconds to 2 minutes), then the said risk increased by 86%.
Previous studies have shown that exposure to microwaves can have a very negative effect on the health of offspring in both humans and animals. In particular, according to a number of previous studies, even minor doses of radiation can lead to a significant increase in the risk of developing diabetes, high glucose levels, attention deficit syndrome, and a number of other disorders, primarily neurological in nature. Also, a study conducted on mice last year by a group of scientists from the UK demonstrated that when exposed to high levels of electromagnetic fields from a microwave oven twice a week, the risk of obesity in the offspring of animals increased by an average of 2.35 times compared to normal levels. When cooking in microwave ovens, according to scientists, a safe distance for pregnant women is 4 meters.