Pregnancy: A “teachable moment” for weight control and obesity prevention

By S. Phelan. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2009

651 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Excessive gestational weight gain has been shown to relate to high postpartum weight retention and the development of overweight and obesity later in life. Since many women are concerned about the health of their baby during pregnancy and are in frequent contact with their health care providers, pregnancy may be an especially powerful “teachable moment” for promoting healthy eating and physical activity behaviors among women. Initial research suggests that helping women gain the recommended amount during pregnancy through healthy eating and physical activity could make a major contribution to preventing postpartum weight retention. However, more randomized controlled trials with larger samples sizes are needed to identify the most effective and disemminable intervention. Providers have the potential to prevent high postpartum weight retention and future obesity by monitoring weight gain during pregnancy and giving appropriate advice about recommended amounts of gestational weight gain.

Subfields: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Surgery

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5b94b35486547fea297019086c2f69a3e993301d