Nutrition and Exercise Prevent Excess Weight Gain in Overweight Pregnant Women

MOTTOLA, M. F., I. GIROUX, R. GRATTON, J. HAMMOND, A. HANLEY, S. HARRIS, R. MCMANUS, M. H. DAVENPORT, and M. M. SOPPER. Nutrition and Exercise Prevent Excess Weight Gain in Overweight Pregnant Women. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 265-272, 2010. Purpose: To determine the effect of a Nutrition and Exercise Lifestyle Intervention Program (NELIP) for overweight (OW) and obese (OB) pregnant women on pregnancy weight gain, birth weight, and maternal weight retention at 2 months postpartum. Methods: This is a single-arm intervention matched by prepregnant body mass index, age, and parity to a historical cohort (4: 1). Women with a prepregnancy body mass index of >= 25.0 kg.m(-2) (N = 65) participated in a NELIP starting at 16-20 wk of pregnancy, continuing until delivery. NELIP consisted of an individualized nutrition plan with total energy intake of approximately 2000 kcal.d(-1) (8360 kJ.d(-1)) and 401/-55% of total energy intake from carbohydrate. Exercise consisted of a walking program (30% HR reserve), three to four times per week, using a pedometer to count steps. Matched historical cohort (MC; N 260) was from a large local perinatal database. Results: Weight gained by women on the NELIP was 6.8 +/- 4.1 kg (0.38 +/- 0.2 kg.wk(-1)), with a total pregnancy weight gain of 12.0 +/- 5.7 kg. Excessive weight gain occurred before NELIP began at 16 wk of gestation. Eighty percent of the women did not exceed recommended pregnancy weight gain on NELIP. Weight retention at 2 months postpartum was 2.2 +/- 5.6 kg with no difference between the OW and the OB women on NELIP. Mean birth weight was not different between NELIP (3.59 +/- 0.5 kg) and MC (3.56 +/- 0.6 kg, P > 0.05). Conclusions: NELIP reduces the risk of excessive pregnancy weight gain with minimal weight retention at 2 months postpartum in OW and OB women. This intervention may assist OW and OB women in successful weight control after childbirth.