London, May 12 (IANS): Are you expecting? If so, refrain from drinking coffee, as babies born to women who drank coffee during pregnancy were found to be at a higher risk of being overweight, claims a study.

Consumption of even one or two cups of coffee per day by expectant mothers can put their babies into a higher risk of being obese at school age.

"There may be good cause to increase the restriction of the recommended maximum of three cups of coffee per day. Caffeine is not a medicine that needs to be consumed," said Verena Sengpiel, Associate Professor at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden.

However, the clear link between caffeine and the cause of obesity is not yet proved, the study showed.

Published in BMJ Open Journal, the team included 50,943 expectant mothers. The children born to women who had consumed caffeine during pregnancy were studied till they were eight years old.

During the study, children aged five years old, who were overweight or obese were five per cent greater in the group whose mothers had the highest caffeine consumption in the study, compared to those whose mothers had the lowest caffeine consumption.

The risk of child obesity due to prenatal caffeine consumption was also seen among women who followed the recommended amount as according to the National Food Agency, i.e. three cups of coffee every day.

Even though further studies are needed, it is better to reduce the consumption or completely refrain from caffeine intake during pregnancy, Sengpiel advised.