Diabetes and CVD Risk with Postpartum Weight Gain

According to research by the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, women who gain weight during their first postpartum year may be at an increased risk for both diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Ravi Retnakaran and a team of researchers at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto followed the weight patterns of postpartum patients and compared their data to known metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors. Overall, 305 obstetrical patients were followed throughout their pregnancy and for a year following birth. After 1 year, approximately 75% of patients lost some of their ‘baby weight’ while maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, approximately 25% of these patients gained weight in that year, showing an increase in diabetes and CVD risk factors.

Dr. Retnakaran commented, "This finding helps us advise women about the importance of losing their excess pregnancy weight in the first year after delivery." "With these results, we can say that failure to lose weight between 3 and 12 months postpartum will cause blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin action in the body to move in an unhealthy direction."

This research found that these elevated risk factors were absent at 3 months postpartum, indicating that this window of time is critical.

The study was the first of its kind, supporting the theory that keeping weight gained during pregnancy may contribute directly to diabetes and heart disease risks. More long-term studies are needed to confirm these findings and to help determine which interventions are best for promoting weight loss during this critical period.

• Postpartum weight gain is associated with an unfavorable risk of diabetes and CVD
• Clinicians should emphasize weight loss in postpartum patients in the months following delivery
• Future long-term studies are needed to evaluate which methods are best for accomplishing weight loss in this patient population

Simone Kew, Chang Ye, Anthony J. Hanley, Philip W. Connelly, Mathew Sermer, Bernard Zinman, and Ravi Retnakaran. Cardiometabolic Implications of Postpartum Weight Changes in the First Year After Delivery. Diabetes Care, March 2014