Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that first appears or is diagnosed during pregnancy. It can have serious consequences for the pregnant woman and her unborn child, such as a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A healthy diet comprised of fruit and vegetable would help prevent gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the majority of women with a history of gestational diabetes have suboptimal fruit and vegetable intakes. Implementation intentions are a type of psychosocial intervention that provides solutions to common situations that impede the adoption of a given behavior (e.g., time constraints). A recent review of the literature found that this type of intervention is effective to promote healthy eating in the general population. However, it is unknown if implementation intentions would be an effective strategy to promote fruit and vegetable intake in women who are at risk of developing gestational diabetes. In the present study, women were considered at risk for gestational diabetes if they either had a history of gestational diabetes or were overweight. Women were randomly assigned to a group who received the implementation intentions intervention or to another group who did not received this intervention. The study included a follow-up assessment 3 months after the intervention was carried out and the outcomes were fruit and vegetable intake and weight. At the 3-month follow-up women who were exposed to the implementation intentions intervention had significantly increased their fruit and vegetable consumption compared to those not exposed to this intervention. There were no significant changes in weight in the two groups at the 3-month assessment. Implementation intentions can be used to promote fruit and vegetable intake in women at risk for gestational diabetes and thereby prevent future occurrence of gestational diabetes and its serious consequences for women and their babies.