Laila Ali: I'm Pregnant Again and Fighting Cravings

(CBS) Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila Ali, is pregnant with her second child and has a message to expecting moms.

"Pregnancy isn't 'I can eat whatever I want," she told People magazine. "You have to remember you're going to be stuck with a lot of that weight afterwards that you need to try to get off. So I don't recommend 'grubbing.'"

The latest science agrees with the former boxing champ and "Dancing with the Stars" alum.

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston found that mothers that put on too much pregnancy weight gave birth to heavy children and that can lead to long term health effects.

"Since high birth weight, in turn, increases risk for obesity and diseases such as cancer and asthma later in life, these findings have important implications to general public health," said study coauthor Dr. David Ludwig in a statement.

Ali says she has had her own struggles this time around.

"I've noticed I'm putting on weight faster this time, I started showing sooner," she told People. "Staying fit is a challenge, even if you are a former athlete such as myself, because you just don't have the energy that you used to have."

So, for pregnant moms, how much weight is too much?

According to Ludwig, expectant moms who gained 44 to 49 pounds were 1.7 times more likely to have an overweight child as moms who only put on 18 to 22 pounds. Moms who really hit the Haagen-Dazs too hard and gained more than 53 pounds, were 2.3 times more likely.

That means pregnant women must fight twice as hard to battle those cravings - even Ali.

"I have cravings all the time, even when I'm not pregnant," Ali said. "I made a strawberry shortcake last night." And? "It was great."

Dr. Ludwig's study was published in the Lancet.

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