In a new prospective cohort study, researchers studied the data on 14,437 women who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study II. Data was collected from the years of 1989-2001. Participants were aged 24 to 44 years and had no chronic diseases. The study was designed to colect data on diet, level of physical activity, weight (BMI) and also smoking to determine if these factors varied the risk for gestational diabetes.
The strongest association was seen between BMI >25 before the pregnancy and risk for developing gestational diabetes. Women with BMI <25 before the pregnancy showed lowered risk of gestational diabetes by 52%level of physical activity,level of physical activity, besides the three low-risk factors. Overall, the risk for developing gestational diabetes was lowered by 41% for women with the three low-risk factors of non-smokers, moderate to vigorous physical activity ≥150 minutes a week, and healthy eating. Moreover, risk was lowered by 83% (RR=0.17; 95% CI, 0.12-0.25) in women meeting all four criteria.
The study shows that risk for gestational diabetes can be lowered greatly if mothers maintain a healthy body weight through a healthy diet, do regular exercise and do not smoke. These tree factors ensure that a healthy lifestyle is followed and the study shows that it is this healthy lifestyle that lowers the risk of gestational diabetes.
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