Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 May;125(5):1195-1204.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000000738.

Effect of an exercise intervention on gestational diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial

Carrie Nobles  1 , Bess H Marcus, Edward J Stanek 3rd, Barry Braun, Brian W Whitcomb, Caren G Solomon, JoAnn E Manson, Glenn Markenson, Lisa Chasan-Taber
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of an exercise intervention on gestational diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial

Carrie Nobles et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2015 May.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of an individually tailored, motivationally matched prenatal exercise intervention on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and other measures of glucose intolerance among ethnically diverse prenatal care patients at increased risk for GDM.

Methods: The Behaviors Affecting Baby and You study randomized eligible women at a mean (standard deviation) of 18.2 (4.1) weeks of gestation to a 12-week individually tailored, motivationally matched exercise intervention or a comparison health and wellness intervention. The goal of the exercise intervention was to achieve the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy. Diagnosis of GDM, impaired glucose tolerance, abnormal glucose screen, and screening glucose values (mg/dL) were abstracted from medical records. A sample size of 352 women (176 per group) was planned to have 80% power to detect reductions in risk of 35% or larger.

Results: From July 2007 to December 2012, a total of 251 (86.5%) women completed the intervention; n=124 and 127 in the exercise and comparison interventions, respectively. Based on an intention-to-treat analysis, no statistically significant differences between the intervention groups were observed; the relative odds of GDM in the exercise group was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28-1.32) as compared with the health and wellness comparison group. Odds ratios for impaired glucose tolerance and abnormal glucose screen were 0.68 (95% CI 0.35-1.34) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.51-1.47), respectively. The intervention had no effect on birth outcomes.

Conclusion: In this randomized trial among ethnically diverse pregnant women at increased risk for GDM, we found that a prenatal exercise intervention implemented in the second trimester did not result in a statistically significant reduction in relative odds for GDM, impaired glucose tolerance, or abnormal glucose screen.

Level of evidence: I.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00728377.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial Disclosure

The authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for the Behaviors Affecting Baby and You Study, 2007–2012.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Metzger B, Gabbe S, Persson B, Buchanan T, Catalano P, Damm P, et al. International association of diabetes and pregnancy study groups recommendations on the diagnosis and classification of hyperglycemia in pregnancy. Diabetes Care. 2010;33:676–682. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Diabetes Association. Standards of medical care in diabetes--2012. Diabetes Care. 2012;35(Suppl 1):S11–S63. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kim C. Maternal outcomes and follow-up after gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetic Med. 2014;31:292–301. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bellamy L, Casas J, Hingorani A, Williams D. Type 2 diabetes mellitus after gestational diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. 2009;373:1773–1779. - PubMed
    1. Tobias D, Zhang C, van Dam R, Bowers K, Hu F. Physical activity before and during pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A meta-analysis. Diabetes Care. 2011;34:223–229. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data