Introduction:
Identifying strategies to mitigate gradual long-term weight gain is critical for preventing obesity and its related chronic diseases, particularly for persons at high risk, such as women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We prospectively examined the independent associations between lifestyle changes in mid-life with long-term weight change among women with and without a history of GDM.
Hypothesis:
We hypothesized that favorable improvements in lifestyle would be associated with less long-term weight gain, particularly among women with a history of GDM.
Methods:
We used data from the longitudinal Nurses’ Health Study II, with self-reported lifestyle, diet via food frequency questionnaire, and body weight updated every 2-4 years. We analyzed repeated 4-year changes of the following lifestyle factors among parous women after age 40: adherence to a healthy dietary pattern (Alternate Healthy Eating Index score [AHEI]), physical activity (MET-hrs/wk), moderate alcohol intake (servings/d), and non-smoking, in relation to concurrent 4-year change in body weight (lb). We used multivariable generalized estimating equation models to estimate the least-squares mean of 4-year weight change and 95% confidence interval (CI) for each lifestyle change category (e.g., decrease, remain stable, and increase).
Results:
Our analysis included 61,637 women, of which 3,444 (5.6%) had a history of GDM. Mean of repeated 4-year weight change after age 40 was 3.0 lb (SD=14.3). Improving diet was associated with favorable 4-year weight change, particularly among women with a history of GDM vs. without GDM (AHEI score change from low to high: -6.3 lb [CI: -9.3, -3.4] vs. -2.7 lb [CI: -3.2, -2.2], respectively; p-interaction=0.04). Increasing physical activity was associated with weight maintenance for GDM women only (MET-hrs/wk change from low to high: 0.6 lb [95% CI: -0.6, 1.7] vs. 2.0 lb [95% CI: 1.8, 2.2] for GDM vs. non-GDM, respectively; p-interaction=0.01). Reducing alcohol (decreased servings/d: 1.9 lb [95% CI: 1.2, 2.6] and 2.8 lb [95% CI: 2.6, 2.9] for GDM vs. non-GDM, respectively) and smoking cessation (recent quitter: 9.8 lb [95% CI: 7.1, 12.5] and 8.5 lb [95% CI: 8.0, 9.1] for GDM vs. non-GDM, respectively) were associated with similar patterns in weight change for women with and without prior GDM. Further, the joint association of improving both diet and physical activity from low to high was related to -12.3 lb (95% CI: -19.5, -5.0) and -6.1 lb (95% CI: -8.0, -4.2) of weight loss for GDM vs. non-GDM women, respectively.
Conclusions:
We observed that attainable improvements in diet quality and physical activity were associated with weight gain prevention. These findings support continued efforts to improve lifestyle as a beneficial strategy to prevent long-term weight gain, particularly among women with a history of GDM.
Healthful dietary patterns and long-term weight change among women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus