When diabetes is diagnosed during pregnancy it is termed Gestational diabetes, and women who have had this form of diabetes are at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes afterward.
It is well-known physical activity is important for preventing and controlling high blood sugar levels.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.
C.
, USA, studied physical activity levels and sedentary behaviors to discover how best to prevent the development of Type 2 diabetes after having had Gestational diabetes.
Their study, reported on in the Journal of the American Medical Association in May 2014, included 4554 women with a history of Gestational diabetes, who were seen in 1991, 1997, 2001, and 2005.
Six hundred and thirty-five cases of full-blown diabetes were diagnosed during that time.
It was found that each 100 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity was related to a 9 percent lowered risk of developing Type 2 diabetes...

• women who took part in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week had a 47 percent lower risk of developing full-blown Type 2 diabetes than had sedentary women.
  
• women who watched television 20 hours or more each week had almost a 50 percent higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes than women who watched 0 to 5 hours per week.
  

From this information it was concluded an active lifestyle could significantly lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes developing in women who had diabetes during pregnancy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, USA, lists the following examples of what is considered moderate-intensity physical activity...

• general gardening,
• ballroom dancing,
• walking 3 miles per hour,
• water aerobics, and
• tennis doubles.
  

Much of the housework mothers do also count as moderate-intensity exercise...

• vacuuming carpets,
• sweeping,
• mopping floors,
• dusting, and other
• regular housekeeping activities

also count as exercise.
Mothers who work in an office can get some physical activity by parking far from the building and walking to and from their car and from taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Mothers who work as nurses get moderate-intensity physical activity when they are on their feet.
Add to that an hour every day of

• walking the dog,
• playing tennis,
• taking a class in ballroom dancing, or
• water aerobics, and

you are well on your way.
If you are like many women (and men), limiting television to only programs you really like to watch can limit your television viewing significantly.
Watch something you really like, get up and walk the dog and clean the living room, and return to television viewing when there is something else you really want to watch, and lower your risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.