Mediterranean Diet in Pregnancy Might Reduce Risk for Gestational Diabetes

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Lorenzo Di Francesco, MD, FACP, FHM

Women who follow a Mediterranean-style diet in pregnancy might lower their risk for gestational diabetes, according to a randomized trial in PLOS Medicine.

Nearly 1300 inner-city U.K. women who were less than 18 weeks' pregnant and had at least one metabolic risk factor (e.g., obesity, high triglycerides) were randomized to a Mediterranean diet (see second link below) or usual care. Women in the intervention group had three in-person sessions with the study dietitian and researchers, received a culturally sensitive recipe book, and were given mixed nuts and extra virgin olive oil.

The study's primary composite endpoints — one comprising gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, the other comprising stillbirth, small-for-gestational-age fetus, and neonatal ICU admission — did not differ significantly between the groups. However, risk for gestational diabetes alone was significantly lower with the Mediterranean diet than with usual care (18% vs. 25%). Women in the diet group also gained about 1 kg less during pregnancy.