The difference in the children’s obesity risk won’t be evident until they are three, four and five years old, which is when weight trajectories start to separate. If both parents are overweight or obese, this risk can increase to more than 70 percent, according to epidemiological data. “The next big question is whether the children born to moms who restricted their weight gain will have a reduced risk of becoming obese themselves compared to children whose moms were in the control group,” Van Horn said.Ĭhildren born to overweight and obese moms have more than a 50 percent chance of becoming overweight themselves. Will MOMFIT kids have less risk of developing obesity? Researchers are investigating possible contributors to this finding. One unusual outcome of the trial was a higher rate of cesarean sections for the women in the intervention group. “Applying this approach in a clinical setting could help women achieve recommended weight-gain goals during pregnancy and improve postpartum lifestyle behaviors for the whole family.” “MOMFIT demonstrates the feasibility of counseling pregnant women in healthy diet and lifestyle behaviors through nutrition coaching using modern technology,” Van Horn said. During pregnancy, weight gain is anticipated and appropriate, but it should be curtailed in overweight and obese women. Most commercial apps are designed to support weight loss. This is believed to be the first study of obese and overweight pregnant women using a technologically advanced, commercially available weight-loss smartphone app to test the effects of a specially tailored diet combined with modest physical activity.Įxisting commercial weight control technologies target non-pregnant women and don’t address prenatal energy and nutrient needs, the authors said. 24 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The Northwestern study was novel because it concentrated on improving diet quality and healthy lifestyle in the moms using modern tools and focused on potential maternal fetal nutrition advantages that could have lifelong benefits, Van Horn said. It was part of the Lifestyle Interventions for Expectant Moms (LIFE-Moms) Consortium, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported research project, with each study implementing separate interventions. Alan Peaceman, developed and led the study, called MOMFIT (Maternal Offspring Metabolics: Family Intervention Trial). Van Horn, along with obstetrician colleague Dr. Among the risks for women and their babies: diabetes, preeclampsia, hypertension and birth defects. women of reproductive age are overweight or obese, and the risk of excess gestational weight gain is higher for them than women of healthy weight. “These results show promise in harnessing modern technology to help a mom achieve those goals.” “We need to help these women, who make up the majority of pregnancies in the U.S, leverage this unique opportunity during their pregnancy to adopt a healthier diet and lifestyle plan that they can follow throughout pregnancy and, hopefully, post-partum,” said lead study author Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The approach included nutritional counseling on a healthy diet and lifestyle as supported by a commercially available smartphone diet app, with ongoing coaching via the phone and online. Their babies were born in the normal weight range. The obese and overweight women in the study gained five pounds less during their pregnancy than those in the control group. Obstetricians are often reluctant to recommend restricted weight gain for pregnant women due to safety concerns for the baby and lack of time and tools to safely guide women in their weight control efforts.Ī new Northwestern Medicine study shows with proper nutrition guidance it is safe and feasible to restrict weight gain in obese and overweight pregnant women. Being obese or overweight during pregnancy can result in serious health problems for the mother and child.
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