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Activity Keeps Diabetes at Bay During Pregnancy

Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2004

Women who are physically active seem to lower their odds of developing diabetes when they become pregnant.

That comes from a study by Dr. Jennifer C. Dempsey, of the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, and colleagues. They examined recreational physical activity in the year before and during pregnancy among 909 non-diabetic women without high blood pressure.

According to the team's report in the American Journal of Epidemiology,
Women who spent at least 4.2 hours per week participating in physical activity had a 76 percent reduction in risk.
A total of 615 women (67.7 percent) reported participating in physical activity during pregnancy. These women were 31 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes.

The team reports that 576 patients (63.4 percent) reported physical activity during both the year before and during pregnancy. Compared with the inactive group, this group had a 69 percent reduced risk, after taking into account the women's age, race, and pre-pregnancy body weight.

"Concerns remain about the paucity of empirical evidence regarding physical activity associated with optimal pregnancy outcomes," Dempsey's team notes. "Randomized lifestyle intervention trials and larger cohort studies are necessary to confirm our findings."

Source: Diabetes In Control