Diabetes Can be Predicted 7 Years Before Pregnancy with Blood Sugar and Body Weight, Kaiser Permanente Study Finds

How much weight a woman gains between her pregnancies may affect her risk of developing gestational diabetes, according to a new study. On the flip side, losing weight between pregnancies may reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes mellitus is associated with a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes as well as diabetes in women and their children. Researchers studied 22,351 women over a 10-year period. They found those who gained 2.0-2.9 BMI units (about 12 to 17 pounds) between their first and second pregnancy were more than two-times more likely to develop gestational diabetes during the second pregnancy compared to women whose weight gain remained stable. Those who gained 3.0 or more BMI units (about 18 pounds or more) between the pregnancies were more than three-times more likely to develop gestational diabetes.