Pre-Pregnancy Weight Gain Increases the Risk of Gestational Diabetes

Posted on May 27, 2008 in Latest News

Pre-pregnancy weight gain increases the risk of gestational diabetes, reports a new study. It suggests that women planning to become pregnant can decrease the risk of gestational diabetes by not gaining weight.

The study was conducted by Dr. Monique M. Hedderson and colleagues, of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, in Oakland, California. They studied the weight gain in women for a period of 5 years before pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes from the medical records of a large group of multiethnic women who enrolled in a prepaid health plan in northern California.

The researchers studied reports of 251 women who developed gestational diabetes and 204 women who did not develop the condition. The result of the study showed that women who gained 5 to 22 pounds in a year and subsequently for five years before pregnancy were 2.5 times more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

Dr. Monique M. Hedderson and colleagues said that weight gain within 5 years of pregnancy is linked to the development of gestational diabetes, but they concluded that the findings of this small study need to be confirmed in larger groups.

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