Research
Energy balance
Physical activity interventions during pregnancy do not significantly reduce gestational weight gain compared to dietary interventions and do not significantly improve obstetric outcomes like pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.
While light physical activity is safe, it is less effective than dietary changes for controlling weight gain and preventing pregnancy complications. Prioritize dietary adjustments with professional guidance for better outcomes.
ModerateRefutesMEDIUM confidence
There were no differences in these outcomes with physical activity based and mixed approach interventions compared with the control... There was no significant reduction in fetal weight or other clinical outcomes [in obese/overweight women with physical activity].
Why this rating
The evidence for physical activity's effect on weight gain was moderate, but for clinical outcomes it was low/very low or non-significant.
Source
Effects of interventions in pregnancy on maternal weight and obstetric outcomes: meta-analysis of randomised evidence
Shakila Thangaratinam et al. · BMJ · 2012
DOI 10.1136/bmj.e2088
Meta-analysis · 44 studiesCited 794×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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