Research
Energy balance
Pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are significant, modifiable risk factors that increase the incidence of GDM.
Maintain a healthy weight before pregnancy. If overweight, aim for gradual weight loss before conceiving. During pregnancy, monitor weight gain closely to ensure it stays within recommended guidelines for your pre-pregnancy BMI.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity is an established risk factor for GDM, which can significantly increase the incidence of GDM... High rates of gestational weight gain, particular during early pregnancy, may increase the risk of GDM.
Why this rating
Consistent findings across multiple cohort studies and meta-analyses.
Source
Prevalence, Prevention, and Lifestyle Intervention of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in China
Juan Juan et al. · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · 2020
DOI 10.3390/ijerph17249517
narrative_reviewCited 356×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Advanced maternal age (≥35 years) is a strong, non-modifiable risk factor for GDM, with risk increasing linearly with age.Strong
- Lifestyle interventions combining dietary modification and physical exercise are effective first-line preventive strategies for reducing the incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).Good
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