Study: Exercise Can Significantly Reduce Risk of Pregnancy-Related Diabetes

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Exercise can reduce risk of gestational diabetes, which significantly affects Latinas, Health Day reports.

In a recent study by Spanish researchers published in the BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found that out of 2,800 women who participated in their research studies, those that exercised reduced their risk of pregnancy-related diabetes (gestational diabetes) by more than 30 percent.

Women that exercised throughout the entire pregnancy had a 36 percent lower risk of gestational diabetes.

Pregnant women that combined toning, flexibility, strength and aerobic exercise reduced their risk even more.

“Exercise is not something to be feared during pregnancy — the moderate levels of exercise used in these studies had significantly positive effects on health and were found to be safe for both mother and baby,” lead author Gema Sanabria-Martinez, from Virgen de la Luz Hospital in Cuenca, Spain, said in a journal news release.

Gestational diabetes affects between two and ten percent of expectant mothers, according to Baby Center, “making it one of the most common health problems of pregnancy.”