Adults have a much higher risk of dying from heart disease or stroke if their mothers were overweight or obese before they became pregnant, a new study suggests.

Previous research has found that people whose mothers were overweight before pregnancy have an increased risk of diabetes, high cholesterol levels and obesity. However this study set out to investigate whether this could actually lead to higher rates of heart disease and death.

US scientists studied data on almost 900 people from 1971 to 2012. Information about the participants' mothers' weight prior to pregnancy was known. Around one in 10 of the mothers were overweight before they became pregnant.

The study found that adults whose mothers had been overweight or obese prior to pregnancy had a 90% increased risk of developing or dying from heart disease.

The scientists noted that the participants' own risk factors, such as their weight or diabetes status, did account for some of this risk, but not all. They said that the results confirm the importance of reducing obesity among women before they become pregnant.

The team from Boston said that while further research is needed to verify these findings, their results add to the increasing body of evidence linking the health of mothers to their children's heart heath later in life.

Details of these findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014 in Chicago.

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