Objective Obesity in pregnancy and gestational diabetes (GDM) increase cardiometabolic disease risk but are difficult to disentangle. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that 4–10 years after a pregnancy complicated by overweight/obesity and GDM (OB‐GDM), women and children would have greater adiposity and poorer cardiometabolic health than those with overweight/obesity (OB) or normal weight (NW) and no GDM during the index pregnancy. Methods In this cross‐sectional study, mother‐child dyads were stratified into three groups based on maternal health status during pregnancy (OB‐GDM = 67; OB = 76; NW = 76). Weight, height, waist and hip circumferences, and blood pressure were measured, along with fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, lipids, adipokines, and cytokines. Results Women in the OB and OB‐GDM groups had greater current adiposity and poorer cardiometabolic health outcomes than those in the NW group (p < 0.05). After adjusting for current adiposity, women in the OB‐GDM group had higher HbA1c, glucose, HOMA‐IR and triglycerides than NW and OB groups (p < 0.05). Among children, adiposity was greater in the OB‐GDM versus NW group (p < 0.05), but other indices of cardiometabolic health did not differ. Conclusions Poor cardiometabolic health in women with prior GDM is independent of current adiposity. Although greater adiposity among children exposed to GDM is evident at 4–10 years, differences in cardiometabolic health may not emerge until later.

Test the hypothesis that women with obesity have greater gestation weight gain (GWG) with a moderately higher, vs lower, carbohydrate (CHO) diet, independent of energy intake, whereas GWG for women of normal weight would not differ by CHO group. This was a secondary analysis of data collected from glucose tolerant women with normal weight (NW) or obesity in pregnancy. Women completed a three-day food diary 16 to 20 weeks. A median split for percent kilocalories from CHO (median = 49.6%) categorized women into moderately highCHO vs lowCHO groups (n = 13-15/group). GWG was calculated between consent and the last prenatal care visit. A two-way ANOVA was used to examine whether there was an interaction between weight status and CHO group on GWG, independent of energy intake, time between consent and last prenatal visit, and age. Women in both highCHO groups consumed more sugars and starches compared to women in the lowCHO groups (P < .05). A significant interaction between weight status and CHO content of the diet was found (P < .05), such that, for women with obesity, those consuming a lowCHO diet had less GWG than those consuming a highCHO diet, whereas the pattern was opposite for women with NW. Results suggest that intake of a moderately lower CHO diet may help limit GWG among glucose tolerant women with obesity.Given that women in this study were eligible only if they had normal fasting glucose concentrations in early pregnancy, it is not clear if these results would generalize to all women with obesity during pregnancy.

High blood pressure (BP) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although factors outside the home, such as crime and noise, have been associated with high BP in women and children, it is unknown if disorder within the home (household disorder) influences BP. We tested the hypothesis that women and children with more household disorder would have higher BP, independent of age, race, sodium intake, and body mass index (BMI). This study was a secondary analysis of data from mother–child dyads (n = 216). Mothers were 87% African American, 34 ± 5 years old, with BMI 33.59 ± 9.43 kg/m2. Children were 7 ± 2 (range: 4–10) years of age with BMI z score 0.60 ± 2.07. Household disorder was measured by the Confusion Hubbub and Order Scale. Mother–child dyads were assessed for weight, height, BP (adults), BP percentile (children), energy intake, and sodium intake. The relationship between household disorder and BP was evaluated using Pearson’s partial correlation coefficients. In fully adjusted models, household disorder was positively associated with systolic BP for mothers (r = 0.15, p < .05) and tended to be positively associated with diastolic BP (r = 0.11, p = .10). For the children, household disorder was not associated with systolic or diastolic BP percentile. This study’s results suggest that household disorder is positively associated with higher BP in adult women, but not their children. Nevertheless, these data suggest that interventions to address household disorder could benefit maternal BP and potentially improve long-term CVD outcomes.

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Purpose: Investigate whether obesity risk and current weight status are independently associated with physical activity (PA) and whether PA is associated with adiposity and insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance) among children with high versus low obesity risk based on in utero exposure to maternal overweight/obesity with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM; high risk) or without GDM (overweight/obesity; high risk) or maternal normal weight without GDM (low risk). Method: Secondary analysis of data from children born to women with overweight/obesity and GDM, overweight/obesity without GDM, or normal weight without GDM. PA was assessed with accelerometry, percentage of body fat derived from anthropometrics, and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance calculated from glucose and insulin. Results: Among 4- to 10-year-old children (N#x2009;= 163), analyses of covariance showed that children with a current BMI ≥85th percentile had less vigorous PA than those with BMI <85th percentile, but in utero exposure was not an independent predictor of PA. In linear regression modeling, moderate to vigorous PA was inversely associated with percentage of body fat and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance independent of age, Tanner stage, and accelerometer wear time, with stronger associations in high-risk groups. Conclusions: Children’s PA is related to current weight status but not underlying risk for obesity but may be especially important to reduce obesity and insulin resistance in high-risk children.