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A low intensity dietary intervention for reducing excessive gestational weight gain in an overweight and obese pregnant cohort

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Abstract

Purpose

Excessive gestational weight gain is associated with detrimental outcomes to both the mother and baby. Currently, the best approach to prevent excessive gestational weight gain in overweight and obese women is undetermined. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based outpatient dietary intervention in pregnancy to reduce excessive gestational weight gain.

Methods

In this retrospective study, overweight and obese pregnant women who attended a single 90-min group education session were compared to women who received standard care alone. Total gestational weight gain, maternal and neonatal outcomes were compared between the intervention and control groups. Data were analysed using Student t, Mann–Whitney and Chi-squared tests as appropriate. A 24-h dietary recall was analysed and compared to the Australian National Nutrition Survey.

Results

A significant reduction in gestational weight gain was observed with this intervention (P = 0.010), as well as in the rate of small for gestational age births (P = 0.043). Those who attended the intervention had saturated fat and sodium intake levels that exceeded recommendations. Intake of pregnancy-specific micronutrients including folate, calcium and iron were poor from diet alone.

Conclusions

A low-intensity antenatal dietary intervention may be effective in reducing excessive gestational weight gain, although multi-disciplinary interventions yield the best success. Further research is required to identify the optimal modality and frequency to limit excessive gestational weight gain. Dietary interventions tailored to ethnicity should also be explored.

Level of evidence

Level II, controlled trial without randomization.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all study participants and staff in Women’s and Newborn Health at Westmead Hospital that contributed to the project.

Funding

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Bonnie Dorise

  2. WSLHD Research and Education Network, Westmead Hospital, 2145, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Karen Byth

  3. Department of Women’s and Newborn Health, Westmead Hospital, 2145, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Therese McGee, Anita Wood & Caron Blumenthal

Authors
  1. Bonnie Dorise
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  2. Karen Byth
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  3. Therese McGee
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  4. Anita Wood
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Contributions

The authors responsibilities were as follows: CB, AW and TM contributed to study design, BD, AW and CB conducted the research, BD, KB and CB analysed the data, BD wrote the paper; TM, CB and KB edited the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bonnie Dorise.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by Western Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee [SAC2017/4/6.2 (5643) QA]. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

For this retrospective study, formal consent was not required.

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Dorise, B., Byth, K., McGee, T. et al. A low intensity dietary intervention for reducing excessive gestational weight gain in an overweight and obese pregnant cohort. Eat Weight Disord 25, 257–263 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0566-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-018-0566-2

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