7 months ago
Childhood diet linked to high blood sugar in pregnancy
A long study in India found that high blood sugar during pregnancy is often linked to poor diet and undernutrition in childhood.
The study followed mothers and their children for many years and discovered that women who had poor nutrition as children were more likely to have high blood sugar when they became pregnant.
This high blood sugar can then affect their children, making them more likely to have diabetes later in life.
The study suggests that improving the health of young girls can help reduce the risk of diabetes in future generations.
It also shows that current methods for diagnosing and managing high blood sugar during pregnancy may not be effective for everyone, especially in India, where babies are often smaller than in Western countries.
A 30-year study in Pune, India, links high blood sugar during pregnancy to childhood undernutrition and poor diet.
The study challenges the view that gestational diabetes is temporary, suggesting it reflects a lifelong metabolic disorder.
Children of mothers with high blood sugar are at increased risk of developing diabetes due to metabolic programming.
The study supports the DOHAD theory, which links poor fetal nutrition to future health risks like diabetes.
Researchers call for earlier screening and tailored strategies for managing gestational diabetes in India.
- Who
- Women and their children from six villages in Pune district, India
- What
- A study on the link between childhood diet, undernutrition, and high blood sugar during pregnancy
- Where
- Pune district, India
- When
- The study began in 1993 and is ongoing
- Why
- To understand how diabetes evolves over a lifetime and the role of childhood diet and undernutrition
Key facts
- Study Name
- Pune Maternal Nutrition Study
- Study Duration
- 1993 to present
- Participants
- 800 women and their children
- Key Finding
- High blood sugar in pregnancy linked to childhood diet and undernutrition
- Journal
- Diabetologia
- Lead Author
- Dr. Chittaranjan Yajnik
- Theory Supported
- Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHAD)
Quotes
Dr Chittaranjan Yajnik
Lead author of the study and founder director of the Diabetes Unit at KEM Hospital Research
“Gestational diabetes is not a one-size-fits-all condition, nor one confined to pregnancy alone. Indian babies are among the smallest globally, yet current diagnostic and management guidelines for gestational diabetes are largely based on Western data. Indian health authorities must design national studies tailored to local realities and develop customised strategies to address metabolic health challenges.”
indianexpress.com
“Our earlier findings showed that this tendency towards diabetes was linked to poor growth in the mother’s womb and high blood sugar levels in the parents. If one is born small, his/her system is unable to tolerate the stress of modern lifestyle rapid development in later years which increases the risk of diseases like diabetes, blood pressure and heart diseases.”
indianexpress.com