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Veel bewegen tijdens zwangerschap houdt
cholesterol laag.*
Uit een onderzoek onder 925 vrouwen, die 3 maanden zwanger
zijn, blijkt dat veel bewegen het
cholesterol laag houdt. Normaal gaat
het cholesterol als gevolg van zwangerschap omhoog, bij al te hoge waarden kan
dit wel tot problemen leiden. Veel bewegen is daarom het devies en net zo goed
als minder lang sporten.
Women
who stay active early in pregnancy may have lower cholesterol than those who
take it easy, new research suggests.
Investigators
found that among 925 pregnant women evaluated at the end of the first trimester,
levels of total cholesterol and blood fats called triglycerides declined as
exercise levels increased.
It
is normal for a woman's cholesterol and triglycerides to go up during pregnancy,
lead study author Carole L. Butler told, but particularly large increases have
been linked to the pregnancy complications gestational diabetes and preeclampsia
-- a potential dangerous condition marked by high blood pressure, fluid
retention and protein in the urine.
Some
studies have found evidence that exercise lowers a woman's risk of both of these
complications. The new findings suggest that effects on cholesterol could be one
reason, said Butler, a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle.
She
and her colleagues report the findings in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The
study included women who were interviewed around their 13th week of pregnancy
about their exercise habits over the previous week, as well as other lifestyle
and health factors. The researchers found that women who spent the most time
being active -- about 13 or more hours a week -- had the lowest total
cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while sedentary women had the highest. More
moderate exercisers fell somewhere in between.
Similarly,
women who reported vigorous activities such as jogging had lower cholesterol and
triglycerides than women who engaged in moderate exercise such as
"casual" swimming and biking. Again, sedentary women had the highest
levels.
However,
it seems a woman need not exercise intensely to see the most cholesterol
benefits. According to Butler, time spent exercising, whatever the activity, was
just as strongly related to cholesterol levels as exercise intensity was.
She
said the findings should encourage research into the effects of exercise later
in pregnancy as well.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, August, 2004.