Table 1 3-month and 1-year postpartum characteristics of study population, stratified into 3 groups based on magnitude of change in weight between pre-pregnancy and 5-years postpartum, as follows: (i) weight gain < 0% (weight loss); (ii) weight gain 0–6%; and (iii) weight gain ≥ 6%

Time since delivery (months)

3.2 (3.0-3.6)

3.1 (3.0-3.4)

3.1 (2.9–3.6)

0.72

Age (years)

35.6 ± 4.2

36.1 ± 4.4

35.5 ± 4.2

0.54

Ethnicity:

0.03

 White n(%)

75 (75%)

83(75.5%)

75 (62.5%)

 Asian n(%)

14 (14%)

14(12.7%)

15 (12.5%)

 Other n(%)

11 (11%)

13 (11.8%)

30 (25%)

Family history of DM n(%)

60 (60%)

71 (64.6%)

77 (64.2%)

0.75

Parity

0.89

 1 n(%)

48 (48%)

60 (54.6%)

60 (50%)

 2 n(%)

43 (43%)

40 (36.4%)

48(40%)

 >2 n(%)

9 (9%)

10 (9.0%)

12 (10%)

Pre-pregnancy BMI (kg/m²)

26.9 ± 5.6

24.2 ± 4.1

24.7 ± 4.3

< 0.0001

GDM n (%)

39 (39%)

37 (33.6%)

35(29.2)

0.31

Breastfeeding (months)

3.0 (3.0–4.0)

3.0 (2.0–3.0)

3.0 (2.5-3.0)

0.23

BMI (kg/m²)

27.1 ± 5.0

25.5 ± 4.0

26.6 ± 4.3

0.04

Waist circumference (cm)

92.0 ± 12.7

88.8 ± 10.9

88.9 ± 9.8

0.076

At 1-year Postpartum

Time since delivery (months)

12 (12–13)

12 (12–13)

12 (12–13)

0.34

Breastfeeding (months)

9 (5.5–12)

10.5 [6,7,8,9,10,11,12]

9 [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12]

0.78

Total physical activity

8.0 ± 1.4

8.3 ± 1.4

8.1 ± 1.3

0.51

 Sport index

2.2 ± 0.7

2.3 ± 0.8

2.1 ± 0.7

0.18

 Leisure time index

3.0 ± 0.5

3.1 ± 0.6

3.1 ± 0.5

0.30

 Work index

2.8 ± 0.6

2.8 ± 0.6

2.9 ± 0.6

0.70

BMI (kg/m²)

26.3 ± 5.7

24.4 ± 4.1

26.3 ± 4.8

0.005

Waist circumference (cm)

89.6 ± 14.6

84.5 ± 9.9

87.9 ± 12.1

0.01

Systolic BP (mm Hg)

109.0 ± 11.8

109.2 ± 12.7

108.9 ± 11.3

0.98

Diastolic BP (mm Hg)

65.3 ± 7.6

65.0 ± 9.8

64.4 ± 8.7

0.77

Total cholesterol (mmol/l)

4.6 ± 0.8

4.7 ± 0.8

4.7 ± 0.8

0.43

LDL cholesterol (mmol/l)

2.7 ± 0.8

2.7 ± 0.8

2.8 ± 0.7

0.79

HDL cholesterol (mmol/l)

1.4 ± 0.4

1.5 ± 0.4

1.4 ± 0.3

0.04

Triglycerides (mmol/)

0.9 (0.7–1.2)

0.8 (0.6–1.3)

0.9 (0.7–1.2)

0.80

apoB (g/L)

0.8 ± 0.2

0.8 ± 0.2

0.8 ± 0.2

0.99

apoB:apoA1

0.6 ± 0.2

0.5 ± 0.2

0.6 ± 0.1

0.33

Fasting glucose (mmol/L)

4.7 ± 0.4

4.8 ± 0.5

4.8 ± 0.5

0.49

2-hour glucose (mmol/L)

6.1 ± 1.6

6.3 ± 1.7

6.3 ± 1.8

0.53

HOMA-IR

1.3 (0.9–2.3)

1.2 (0.7–1.7)

1.3 (0.7-2.0)

0.13

Matsuda index

8.1 (4.9–11.3)

8.9 (5.1–13.6)

8.2 (4.9–13.1)

0.31

CRP (mg/L)

1.1 (0.6–3.2)

1.0 (0.5–2.2)

1.2 (0.5-3.0)

0.54

Adiponectin (ug/ml)

9.2 ± 3.9

9.7 ± 3.7

9.0 ± 3.9

0.33