Recently this newspaper has paid much attention to the obesity epidemic in Malta. All articles contain useful advice to decrease obesity and the risks involved.

However, one important issue that was not discussed is the potential link between maternal gestation weight gain, especially during early pregnancy, and the elevated risk of overweight or obesity in the offspring. The risk might be caused by an increase of permanent fat cells in the foetus.

An underlying mechanism could be the absence of a healthy competition for resources between the mother and the foetus, due to an unbalanced diet and lack of exercise. Prenatal care centres might advise pregnant women accordingly.