Adherence
Antenatal dietary and lifestyle advice significantly improves maternal diet quality (HEI) and total physical activity in overweight/obese pregnant women compared to standard care.
If you are overweight or obese and pregnant, structured lifestyle advice focusing on diet and activity can significantly improve your health metrics. This involves working with a professional to set realistic goals, tracking your food and activity, and addressing barriers. You don't necessarily need to join expensive or time-consuming group exercise classes; focusing on incremental changes like more fruit/veg and moderate walking is effective.
Women randomised to Lifestyle Advice demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the number of servings of fruit and vegetables consumed per day, as well as increased consumption of fibre, and reduced percentage energy intake from saturated fats (P < 0.05 for all)... Women randomised to Lifestyle Advice also demonstrated greater total physical activity (adjusted difference in means 359.76 metabolic equivalent task units (MET) minutes/week; 95% CI 74.87 to 644.65; P = 0.01) compared with women receiving Standard Care.
Why this rating
Randomized Controlled Trial with large sample size (n=2180), though self-reported measures introduce some bias.
Source
The effects of antenatal dietary and lifestyle advice for women who are overweight or obese on maternal diet and physical activity: the LIMIT randomised trial
For the LIMIT Randomised Trial Group et al. · BMC Medicine · 2014
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