Diabetes risk soars due to weight gain during pregnancy

According to a recent diabetes study, weight gain during pregnancy could increase female risk of developing diabetes . The most acute risk came from a rapid gain during the first trimester, according to research by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study was published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The results were based on a three-year study of 1,145 pregnant women from an ethnically diverse population, who found that those women who gained more weight than that recommended by the Institute of Medicine faced a 50 per cent greater risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus .
Gestational diabetes is a common problem amongst pregnant women. This form of glucose intolerance typically appears in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. As well as increasing type 2 diabetes risk for the mother, GDM also increases the child’s risk of developing diabetes and obesity later on in their life.