Pregnancy Weight Gain May Increase a Woman's Risk of Gestational Diabetes

I have a patient coming in today to discuss her recent DX of Gestational Diabetes. Her diet contains very little animal protein or fat, no vegetables, little fruit and nuts and large quantities of refined carbohydrates. The sad part is she dearly would like to nurse her child, but what effect will this have on the child?

Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, may increase their risk of developing diabetes later in their pregnancy, according to a study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research that appears online in the current issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Gestational diabetes can lead to early delivery, C-sections and type 2 diabetes, and can increase the child's risk of developing diabetes and obesity later in life.

How about talking to patients about eating less Carbohydrates?

Health care providers should talk to their patients early in their pregnancy about the appropriate gestational weight gain, especially during the first trimester, and help women monitor their weight gain

This is the part that floors me; what do you mean you don't understand the mechanism or causation? Is it any wonder that socio-economics and ethnicity have a direct correlation to rate of GD? It has more to do with the composition of the diet than just calories consumed. The patients who develop GD are not all overweight or obese prior to pregnancy.

Though the exact mechanism for how excessive weight gain may contribute to gestational diabetes is not known, researchers hypothesize that rapid weight gain early in pregnancy may result in an early increase in insulin resistance that leads to the "exhaustion" of the beta-cells in the pancreas that make and release insulin, which controls the level of glucose in the blood.

Is it any wonder the study is so lame; it was conducted with the support of the American Diabetic Association, the same people who recommend Diabetics continue to eat 6 servings of grains a day.

Work Smarter Not Harder!
Dr David Marcon
Cincinnati, Ohio
drdavidmarcon.com