WASHINGTON — When women gain more weight than recommended while pregnant it can impact their children long term.

The children of moms who are obese when they get pregnant are about 300 percent more likely to be obese by age seven.

New research also shows women who gain more than 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy have children who are obese by seven years old about 22 percent of the time.

Findings from this first-ever study of the long-term impact of maternal obesity among low-income and multiethnic youth are published in the journal Maternal & Child Nutrition. The study involved 727 mothers who identified themselves as African-American or Dominican.

The study researchers say obesity in childhood can set kids up to develop chronic diseases later in life, so at-risk moms should be given special attention to help them not gain too much weight while pregnant.