Pregnancy Interventions or Behaviors and Cardiometabolic Biomarkers: a Systematic Review

While normal pregnancy is characterized by changes in serum glucose and lipid levels, overweight and obese women exhibit marked alterations in the trajectory of these changes. Reviews have been published assessing the efficacy of behavioral interventions for weight management during pregnancy. No reviews, however, have examined the metabolic impact of such lifestyle changes/behaviors. We conducted this systematic review summarizing evidence to July 2015 from both trials and observational studies examining the impact of lifestyle interventions or healthy behaviors (diet and/or exercise) among pregnant women on cardiometabolic biomarkers measured during pregnancy. We found that studies are conflicting and have small sample sizes. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that may mediate the effects of nutrition and physical activity on gestational weight gain, pregnancy complications, and long-term cardiometabolic outcomes is needed with particular focus on high-risk groups of overweight and obese women.