Research

Energy balance

Pregnant women with obesity should not increase energy intake during the second and third trimesters; maintaining early-pregnancy energy intake levels achieves recommended gestational weight gain by mobilizing maternal fat mass.

If you have obesity and are pregnant, do not try to increase your daily calories in the second and third trimesters. Instead, aim to eat roughly the same amount you ate in early pregnancy. Your body will use your stored fat to support the baby's growth, which helps you stay within healthy weight gain limits without risking excess fat accumulation.

GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Contrary to current recommendations, energy intake should not exceed energy expenditure. ... pregnant women with obesity should not consume additional energy when pregnant. The energy requirement for fetal development was compensated by mobilization of maternal fat mass
Jasper Most et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2019

Why this rating

Prospective observational study with objective measures (DLW, indirect calorimetry) in a specific population (obese pregnant women), though sample size is small (n=54).

Source

Evidence-based recommendations for energy intake in pregnant women with obesity

Jasper Most et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2019

DOI 10.1172/jci130341

cohort · n=54Cited 55×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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