Effect of daily walking program on glucose level among overweight pregnant women

Background: Overweight and obese pregnant women are more than twice at the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus in comparison to nonobese women. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the effect of daily walking program on glucose level among overweight pregnant women. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2019 at Kasr El Aini, Cairo University Maternity Hospitals, at the antenatal outpatient clinic. A purposive sample of 100 primigravida, singleton, overweight, had an uncomplicated pregnancy, at 14 weeks of gestation were recruited in the study. A structured interview scheduled questionnaire, an anthropometric measurement scale, the pregnancy physical activity questionnaire, and a pedometer/step counter were used for data collection. The walking program was an 8-week program with six interviews and emphasized practice walking. The walking program started after the third interview and continued for 8 weeks. All women in the study group were instructed to practice daily walking for 8 weeks. They instructed to walk 30 min (brisk steps) on daily base, started by 15 min and gradually increase the timing of walking up to 30 min for at least 5 days weekly. The hypothesis was tested through student’s t-test and Chi-square test. Results: The intervention group had lower fasting plasma glucose mg/dl levels with mean of 110.80 ± 5.86 versus 114.80 ± 8.07 in the control group and HbA1c with mean of 6.38 ± 0.62 versus 6.60 ± 0.52 in the control group (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Prediabetic, overweight pregnant women who have completed an average of 6,000 steps walking or more per day early in the second trimester may have lower levels of insulin resistance and lower frequency of exposure to gestational diabetes.