Abstract
Childhood obesity is an area of intense concern internationally and is influenced by events during antenatal and postnatal life. Although pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes and large-for-gestational-age birthweight have been associated with increased obesity risk in offspring, very few successful interventions in pregnancy have been identified. We describe a study protocol to identify if a reduced calorie diet in pregnancy can reduce adiposity in children to 3 years of age. The dietary intervention in gestational diabetes (DiGest) study is a randomised, controlled trial of a reduced calorie diet provided by a whole-diet replacement in pregnant women with gestational diabetes. Women receive a weekly dietbox intervention from enrolment until delivery and are blinded to calorie allocation. This follow-up study will assess associations between a reduced calorie diet in pregnancy with offspring adiposity and maternal weight and glycaemia. Anthropometry will be performed in infants and mothers at 3 months, 1, 2 and 3 years post-birth. Glycaemia will be assessed using bloodspot C-peptide in infants and continuous glucose monitoring with HbA1c in mothers. Data regarding maternal glycaemia in pregnancy, maternal nutrition, infant birthweight, offspring feeding behaviour and milk composition will also be collected. The DiGest follow-up study is expected to take 5 years, with recruitment finishing in 2026.
Highlights
Gestational diabetes, a common complication of pregnancy, is associated with shortterm and long-term health implications for the baby [1,2]
Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes often have multiple risk factors for childhood obesity, which appear to have an additive effect upon risk
Maternal obesity in pregnancy [6,7], maternal excessive gestational weight gain [6], maternal postnatal weight retention [6], exposure to hyperglycaemia in utero [8,9,10], perinatal complications such as large-for-gestational age at birth [9,11,12], infant formula feeding [13] and increased growth trajectory in early life [14] are all established risk factors for childhood obesity or adiposity and are common features of a pregnancy affected by gestational diabetes
Summary
Gestational diabetes, a common complication of pregnancy, is associated with shortterm and long-term health implications for the baby [1,2]. Perinatal and early postnatal periods may be important for future childhood obesity, but are relatively understudied, in specific high-risk populations [5]. Maternal obesity in pregnancy [6,7], maternal excessive gestational weight gain [6], maternal postnatal weight retention [6], exposure to hyperglycaemia in utero [8,9,10], perinatal complications such as large-for-gestational age at birth [9,11,12], infant formula feeding [13] and increased growth trajectory in early life [14] are all established risk factors for childhood obesity or adiposity and are common features of a pregnancy affected by gestational diabetes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
