Lifestyle interventions and gestational diabetes

A telehealth-based lifestyle intervention can significantly reduce excessive gestational weight gain relative to usual antenatal care, among pregnant women who are overweight or obese, US study findings indicate.

Findings from the ESTEEM trial suggest that consuming a Mediterranean-style diet may reduce gestational weight gain and lower the risk for gestational diabetes among pregnant women with metabolic risk factors.

A high volume of moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise during the first trimester of pregnancy may reduce the risk for hyperglycemia and gestational diabetes later on, research shows.

A postpartum lifestyle intervention may help women with gestational diabetes to lose weight following childbirth, indicate results from the 1-year analysis of the Tianjin Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Prevention Program randomized controlled trial.

Taking up healthy eating and exercise does not prevent obese pregnant women from developing gestational diabetes, despite having marked effects on weight gain, show the findings of a randomized trial.

Research suggests that women with gestational diabetes who have elevated glycated haemoglobin levels in the third trimester of pregnancy should be closely monitored for the development of diabetes after delivery.