Background: Low birth weight has been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension, but the risk at high birth weight levels remains uncertain. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to clarify the shape of associations between birth weight and aforementioned diseases in adults and assessed sex‐specific risks. Methods and Results: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE , and Web of Science for studies published between 1980 and October 2016. Studies of birth weight and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM ), cardiovascular disease ( CVD ), and hypertension were included. Random‐effects models were used to derive the summary relative risks and corresponding 95% confidence intervals.We identified 49 studies with 4 053 367 participants assessing the association between birth weight and T2 DM , 33 studies with 5 949 477 participants for CVD , and 53 studies with 4 335 149 participants for hypertension and high blood pressure. Sex‐specific binary analyses showed that only females had an increased risk of T2 DM and CVD at the upper tail of the birth weight distribution. While categorical analyses of 6 birth weight groups and dose‐response analyses showed J‐shaped associations of birth weight with T2 DM and CVD , the association was inverse with hypertension. The lowest risks for T2 DM , CVD , and hypertension were observed at 3.5 to 4.0, 4.0 to 4.5, and 4.0 to 4.5 kg, respectively. Conclusions: These findings indicate that birth weight is associated with risk of T2 DM and CVD in a J‐shaped manner and that this is more pronounced among females.

Background: Greater red meat intake is associated with an increased type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk. However, the relation of red mea

Objective To quantify the association between a combination of healthy lifestyle factors before pregnancy (healthy body weight, healthy diet, regular exercise, and not smoking) and the risk of gestational diabetes. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Nurses’ Health Study II, United States. Participants 20 136 singleton live births in 14 437 women without chronic disease. Main outcome measure Self reported incident gestational diabetes diagnosed by a physician, validated by medical records in a previous study. Results Incident first time gestational diabetes was reported in 823 pregnancies. Each lifestyle factor measured was independently and significantly associated with risk of gestational diabetes. The combination of three low risk factors (non-smoker, ≥150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity, and healthy eating (top two fifths of Alternate Healthy Eating Index-2010 adherence score)) was associated with a 41% lower risk of gestational diabetes compared with all other pregnancies (relative risk 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.48 to 0.71). Addition of body mass index (BMI) <25 before pregnancy (giving a combination of four low risk factors) was associated with a 52% lower risk of gestational diabetes compared with all other pregnancies (relative risk 0.48, 0.38 to 0.61). Compared with pregnancies in women who did not meet any of the low risk lifestyle factors, those meeting all four criteria had an 83% lower risk of gestational diabetes (relative risk 0.17, 0.12 to 0.25). The population attributable risk percentage of the four risk factors in combination (smoking, inactivity, overweight, and poor diet) was 47.5% (95% confidence interval 35.6% to 56.6%). A similar population attributable risk percentage (49.2%) was observed when the distributions of the four low risk factors from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-10) data were applied to the calculation. Conclusions Adherence to a low risk lifestyle before pregnancy is associated with a low risk of gestational diabetes and could be an effective strategy for the prevention of gestational diabetes.