Feasibility of a Dietary Intervention to Limit Gestational Weight Gain and Gestational Diabetes in Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: Maternal overweight and obesity rates are rising. Increasingly, pregnant women are gaining weight in excess of gestational weight gain (GWG) recommendations, which is a risk factor for gestational diabetes (GDM). The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of a pilot dietary intervention to limit GWG and GDM and to examine eating behavior and dietary intake in pregnant women with overweight and obesity. Methods: Pregnant women (n=17) were recruited for a dietary intervention during the first trimester at antenatal maternal health clinics. Public health nurses recruited women with overweight and obesity into intervention (n=9) and control groups (n=8). The dietary intervention included printed material on healthy eating for all participants, plus two dietary counseling sessions with a clinical nutritionist for the intervention group. The Three Factor Eating Questionnaire R-18 (TFEQ R-18), Binge Eating Scale (BES), and 4-day food records were used for all participants to assess their eating behaviors and dietary intake during the study. GWG and the results of all oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were collected at the end of pregnancy. Results: GWG during pregnancy was 9.7 ± 4.4 kg (mean ± SD) in the intervention group and 13.0 ± 3.4 kg in the control group (p=0.165). The prevalence of GDM was 42.9% in the intervention group and 33.3% in the control group (p= 0.725). Conclusions: This approach could be applicable in a larger group as a potential intervention to help control GWG and promote the health of pregnant women with overweight and obesity.