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
Review
. 2020 Oct 6;12(10):3050.
doi: 10.3390/nu12103050.

Diet and Healthy Lifestyle in the Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Louise Rasmussen  1 , Charlotte Wolff Poulsen  1 , Ulla Kampmann  2 , Stine Bech Smedegaard  2 , Per Glud Ovesen  1 , Jens Fuglsang  1
Affiliations
Review

Diet and Healthy Lifestyle in the Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Louise Rasmussen et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among pregnant women increases the risk of both short-term and long-term complications, such as birth complications, babies large for gestational age (LGA), and type 2 diabetes in both mother and offspring. Lifestyle changes are essential in the management of GDM. In this review, we seek to provide an overview of the lifestyle changes which can be recommended in the management of GDM. The diet recommended for women with GDM should contain sufficient macronutrients and micronutrients to support the growth of the foetus and, at the same time, limit postprandial glucose excursions and encourage appropriate maternal gestational weight gain. Blood glucose excursions and hyperglycaemic episodes depend on carbohydrate-intake. Therefore, nutritional counselling should focus on the type, amount, and distribution of carbohydrates in the diet. Further, physical activity has beneficial effects on glucose and insulin levels and it can contribute to a better glycaemic control.

Keywords: GDM; diet; gestational diabetes mellitus; lifestyle; nutrition; physical activity; pregnancy; weight management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The blood glucose levels according to different strategies for daily food intake. Blue curve illustrates the normal meal pattern and red curve illustrates meal pattern in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) to avoid excessive blood glucose fluctuations and to preserve the planned number of calories to be ingested. Blue arrows: Three main meals. Red arrows: three main meals and three snacks.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sonagra A.D., Biradar S.M., Dattatreya K., Jayaprakash Murthy D.S. Normal Pregnancy—A State of Insulin Resistance. J. Clin. Diagn. Res. 2014;8:CC01–CC03. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/10068.5081. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McIntyre H.D., Catalano P., Zhang C., Desoye G., Mathiesen E.R., Damm P. Gestational diabetes mellitus. Nat. Rev. Dis. Prim. 2019;5:47. doi: 10.1038/s41572-019-0098-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moreno-Castilla C., Hernández M., Bergua M., Alvarez M.C., Arce M.A., Rodriguez K., Martinez-Alonso M., Iglesias M., Mateu M., Santos M.D., et al. Low-Carbohydrate Diet for the Treatment of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care. 2013;36:2233–2238. doi: 10.2337/dc12-2714. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ovesen P., Fuglsang J., Andersen M.B., Wolff C., Petersen O.B., McIntyre H.D. Temporal Trends in Gestational Diabetes Prevalence, Treatment, and Outcomes at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, between 2004 and 2016. J. Diabetes Res. 2018;2018:1–6. doi: 10.1155/2018/5937059. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kurtzhals L.L., Nørgaard S.K., Secher A.L., Nichum V.L., Ronneby H., Tabor A., Simmons D., Damm P., Mathiesen E.R. The impact of restricted gestational weight gain by dietary intervention on fetal growth in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetologia. 2018;61:2528–2538. doi: 10.1007/s00125-018-4736-6. - DOI - PubMed