Adherence to healthy lifestyle and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: prospective cohort study

Prevention is better than cure is a golden maxim for many ailments including gestational diabetes(GM). It is suggested in the present study that life style modifications - modifiable factors like diet, physical exercise and maintaining a proper body weight could reduce the risk of gestational diabetes a growing public health concern. The most important risk factor is considered to be body mass index (BMI). The reported BMI is found to be <25 in most of the cases studied with gestational diabetes. It is said that about 800 pregnancies are associated with GM among 20000 pregnant women. One of the studies reported that BMI could not be the best bio-marker of metabolic complications.

Maintaining a healthy diet, doing regular physical exercise, avoiding alcohol and smoking help maintain a good health in every individual. GM is a growing health threat in obese subjects.. What about the lean mothers? Does GM affect lean mothers with poor nutrition? How many of these subjects included in the study had previous history of GM or there is GM reported in the family (Family history).

Yet with growing threat of childhood obesity, taking measures to prevent GM is one of the factors that could help prevent obesity in children.