I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. My son is now eight years old. We have a very hard time controlling his weight. He weighs 113 lbs and is 4 feet 7 inches tall. We have been told that offspring of women with GDM are at no higher risk for glucose intolerance. Has any relationship between gestational diabetes and obesity or glucose intolerance been found?

There is some new research over the past few years implying a link with obesity in children and adolescents and infants of diabetic women. However, obesity is always the result of too much food and too little exercise. So, even if there is some metabolic switch that makes it more likely for someone like your son to gain weight, the answer of increasing daily exercise and cutting back calories would always work. The key is to do this in a way that is not viewed as punishment. In my experience, this is extremely difficult for most families and kids to adopt and sustain. Working with a good dietitian, making sure that all members of the family buy-in to cutting calories and cutting back television, computer, video games and other sedentary activities and really enforcing this every day will make a great difference. Also your son should have a thorough exam by pediatrician/family doctor etc to make sure there is no other treatable cause for the obesity.

Don’t battle, just be strict.

SB