Impacts of dietary fat changes on pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled study

This study aims to determine the impact of increasing polyunsaturated fatty acid intake on blood glucose, lipid metabolism, and pregnancy outcomes of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Under constant total energy and protein intake, 84 pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups, which were given oil-rich and conventional low-oil meals, respectively.

After the dietary intervention, the intake and energy supply of fat and the three fatty acids were significantly higher in the experimental group than the control group (p<0.001). The intake and energy supply of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased significantly post-intervention in the experimental group but did not change in the control group. In both the intervention and the control group, fasting blood glucose, 2 h postprandial plasma glucose, and the insulin resistance index decreased significantly post-intervention (p<0.05); the lipid changes were consistent between groups. Pregnancy outcomes did not differ significantly between the two groups (p>0.05).

An appropriate increase in polyunsaturated fatty acid intake benefits pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus as well as fetuses, as long as the diet therapy follows basic recommendations and total energy intake is strictly controlled.