Results of a study provide more evidence
that engaging in regular physical activity before and
during pregnancy reduces a woman's risk developing pregnancy-induced
diabetes (a.k.a. gestational diabetes).
A lack of exercise may be one of the few modifiable risk
factors for gestational diabetes, which affects upwards
of 7 percent of pregnancies and is associated with harmful
effects on the fetus and mother-to-be, according to the
authors of the study in the medical journal Epidemiology.
Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes may
be abnormally large, may suffer from jaundice, low blood
sugar and low calcium, and may experience traumatic births,
they explain, while women with gestational diabetes are
more likely to become diabetic after pregnancy.
For their study, Dr. Carole B. Rudra from the University
of Washington and colleagues examined the relation between
gestational diabetes and "perceived exertion" in lean
and overweight women. They did this, in part, by asking
the women how they would rate their level of exertion
during usual exercise in the year before becoming pregnant.
The investigators found that the higher the level of
perceived exertion, the lower was the risk of pregnancy-related
diabetes. Women reporting very strenuous usual exertion
were 81 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes
compared with women reporting negligible or minimal exertion.
Women reporting moderate usual exertion had a 59 percent
risk reduction compared with women reporting negligible
or weak exertion.
It's worth noting, the authors say, that the risk reduction
was even evident in women who fell short of recommended
levels of physical activity in the year before becoming
pregnant.
The current study joins several other studies demonstrating
the benefits of regular physical activity before and during
pregnancy.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, January 2006.
