Research

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Engaging in any physical activity before pregnancy is associated with a 30% reduction in the odds of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to no activity.

If you are planning to get pregnant, start moving now. You do not need to be an athlete; any regular physical activity before conception can lower your risk of gestational diabetes by about 30% compared to being sedentary. Focus on consistency rather than intensity.

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Compared to no PA, any pre-pregnancy or early pregnancy PA was associated with 30% and 21% reduced odds of GDM, respectively.
Jovana Mijatovic et al. · Nutrients · 2018

Why this rating

Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 prospective cohort studies (n=30,871), though heterogeneity was medium (I2=52%).

Source

Associations of Diet and Physical Activity with Risk for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jovana Mijatovic et al. · Nutrients · 2018

DOI 10.3390/nu10060698

Meta-analysis · 40 studiesCited 315×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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