Exercise to beat recurring gestational diabetes

An associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts is set to launch a new study into the effects of exercise on pregnant women who have faced gestational diabetes in the past.
Gestational diabetes is a condition that affects pregnant women. The condition puts them at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Dr. Chasan-Taber will lead the study, which is to be funded by a multi-million dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease . The study will investigate how effective a motivationally tailored, targeted 12-week physical activity program is on recurrent gestational diabetes.
Chasan-Taber, speaking on the report, said: “Focusing on women who have had gestational diabetes provides us with an excellent opportunity to intervene years before the development of type 2 diabetes. Pregnancy is a special time for women when they may be interested in adopting new behaviors. This new study builds upon our current work studying the causes of gestational diabetes and moves forward into preventing the consequences of this disease. This is particularly important as the prevalence of diabetes continues to rise worldwide.”
Encouraging exercise amongst pregnant women is another goal of the study.