Study Finds It’s Safe to Diet While Pregnant
Need to lose some extra pounds to get into that bikini? Don’t let the baby in your uterus stop you! According to CBS News, a new study has found that it’s safe to diet while you’re pregnant – and in fact, losing weight may actually reduce the risk of dangerous complications.
All kidding aside, carrying too much weight while pregnant increases the risk for complications such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. However, doctors have been cautious about telling pregnant women to diet out of concerns for adverse events that would harm a mom and baby’s health.
Worry no more: the study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at the effects of diet and exercise on 7,200 pregnant women. Dieting resulted in the most weight loss (an average reduction of almost 9 pounds). Pregnant moms who only exercised lost about 1.5 pounds, and moms who did a combination of diet and exercise lost an average of 2.2 pounds. The latter part is pretty odd – perhaps the exercise was causing them to eat more? “What we don’t know is why diet should be so much better than exercise in controlling weight gain,” said Dr. Shakila Thangaratinam, a clinical senior lecturer and consultant obstetrician at Queen Mary, University of London. “It could be that it is simpler and easier for women to stick to. It may also be that eating a high-fiber diet has other positive health effects for a pregnant woman.”
Dieting moms-to-be were also 33 percent less likely to develop pre-eclampsia, 60 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes and 70 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure, compared with the other groups. The risk of premature birth was also reduced 32 percent.
No more chowing down on pickles and ice cream, ladies…science has taken away the one time in your life you’re allowed to stuff your face! Your baby will also get a head start on a lifetime of dieting.
