Later Complications
Childhood Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. Many studies suggest that one of the reasons of childhood obesity is GDM. There has been evidence of fetal programming of later adiposity amongst offspring exposed to existing diabetes in utero. The offspring of Pima Indian women with preexisting type II diabetes and GDM were larger for gestational age at birth and, after approximately 5 years of age, were heavier than the offspring of prediabetic or nondiabetic women [19] . The Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study found that exposure to maternal GDM was associated with a higher BMI, a greater waist circumference, more visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and a more centralized fat distribution pattern in 6- to 13-year-old multiethnic youth
[20] . Moreover, youth exposed to maternal GDM in utero had an overall higher average BMI growth from 27 months through 13 years of age and a higher BMI growth velocity starting at age 10–13 years [21] . These findings suggest that the long-term effects of in utero GDM exposure are not always evident in early childhood, but rather emerge during puberty, another sensitive period for the development of obesity. Offspring of diabetic mothers is also susceptible to the onset of metabolic syndromes such as increased blood pressure, hyperglycemia, obesity and abnormal cholesterol levels that occur together and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.