(Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt, by infant in a "Pea Pod," -a machine which assesses body composition, to learn body fat percentages. Photo courtesy Iowa State University)
Health experts say most women in the United States gain too much weight when they're pregnant, but researchers at Iowa State University say they may have found a way to tip the scales in a healthier direction.
A two-year study found pregnant women can keep the extra weight off, if they undergo a comprehensive "lifestyle intervention." Researchers say that includes a better diet, more physical activity, and behavioral counseling.
Researchers found 60-percent of women in the study met Institute of Medicine the weight gain recommendations, which is about twice as good as national standards.
ISU Food Science and Human Nutrition Professor, Christina Campbell says the study, by doctoral student Lyndi Buckingham-Schutt is really exciting. She says pregnancy is a stress test, which can signal future chronic diseases.
"What happens to the mom during pregnancy — she gains too much weight, she ends up with gestational diabetes, she has gestational hypertension — that is a pretty good indicator of the fact that she will be overweight or obese into the future. She will have Type 2 diabetes. She will have hypertension or cardiovascular disease. Same thing for the baby. If that fetus was exposed to that glucose-sugar environment, it’s a very strong indicator that that child will at some point in their life end up with Type 2 diabetes," said Campbell, founder of the Blossom Project.
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