Weight gain during pregnancy, relationships among body image, body weight standards, and attitudes toward weight gain were investigated. Weight gain recommendations, based on preconceptional weight status (PCWS) reflected current practices in prenatal care at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Norfolk, VA, and provided a basis on which to categorize weight gain as inadequate, appropriate, and excess. Women who experienced excess weight gain (EWG) were compared to those who experienced appropriate weight gain (AWG) or inadequate weight gain (IWG) to identify their characteristics. Of the 138 women studied, 54 experienced EWG. Weight gain recommendations for overweight women were similar to those for normal weight women, 20-25% PCW. Obese women who lost weight or gained less than 15 pounds were identified with the inadequate weight gain group. / Master of Science

The purpose of this research was to develop, validate, and test an instrument to evaluate motivations to eat in low-income women during the early postpartum period. The instrument was also used in a sample of young college women to further validate the measure and explore determinants of eating in this population. In study 1, the Eating Stimulus Index was validated in 179 low-income women in early postpartum. Validity and reliability were determined via principal components analysis, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability using a subgroup of 31 low-income new mothers. The factor analysis produced an eight factor structure with reliability coefficients ranging from 0.54-0.89. Convenience eating (r=-0.25, P<0.01), emotional eating (r=-0.17, P<0.05), and dietary restraint (r=-0.21, P<0.01) were significantly related to weight status. In study 2, the relationship between eating motivations and diet quality, determined via the Dietary Guidelines Adherence Index, was established in 115 low-income women in early postpartum. High diet quality was related to fruit and vegetable availability (r=0.25, P<0.01), convenience eating resistance (r=-0.36, P<0.001), and vegetable taste preference (r=0.23, P<0.05). Motivations to eat differed between overweight and obese women with the primary motivation being convenience eating and taste, respectively. In study 3, determinants of weight loss were examined in 58 low-income women in early postpartum participating in an 8-week weight loss intervention. Participants were evaluated at pre- and post-study for all measures. Factors related to weight loss included increases in dietary restraint, weight management skills, and weight loss self-efficacy and decreases in fruit juice servings, total energy, and discretionary energy intakes. After hierarchical regression analysis, improvement in weight loss self-efficacy was the most significant determinant (β=0.263, P<0.05) followed by decreases in discretionary energy intake (β=-0.241, P<0.05). In study 4, determinants of diet quality were assessed in a sample of 88 young college women using the Eating Stimulus Index. Low diet quality was associated with poor fruit and vegetable availability, convenience eating resistance, vegetable taste preference, and weight management self-efficacy, while high diet quality was related to increased frequency of meals prepared at home and decreased frequency of meals consumed at fast food restaurants. / text

Background Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) poses significant risk for maternal and neonatal health. Various guidelines have recommended healthy diets and enhancing physical activity during pregnancy to prevent excessive GWG. However, results of intervention studies are inconsistent in the developed countries, and there are no official guidelines and few interventions for GWG in China. This paper aims to review and synthesize relevant studies on diet and physical activity interventions to prevent excessive GWG so that practical suggestions can be provided to public health authorities in China. Methods This systematic review was performed using PubMed, Google and Google Scholar to search all relevant studies in English and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated diet and physical activity interventions to limit excessive GWG up to May 2014. The quality of included studies was assessed using CONSORT statement and JADAD scale. Results Nine studies describing diet and physical activity interventions to prevent excessive GWG were incorporated in the systematic review. Overall, the contents of interventions were diverse, which consisted of one-to-one counselling, and community-based physical activity interventions. Weekly mailed newsletters and supportive telephone calls were used as assistive tools to remind pregnant women of limiting excessive GWG. Seven studies showed less weight gain in pregnant women receiving the intervention, of which four studies demonstrated a reduction in excessive GWG in women with varying body mass index (BMI) spanning the normal, overweight and obese categories, while three studies reported a reduction of excessive GWG only in normal weight women and obese women need to be paid attention in the future. Conclusions The effectiveness of diet and physical interventions to limit excessive GWG may not be confirmed because of limited quality or sample size of intervention studies. However, studies have demonstrated reduction of excessive GWG during pregnancy, in addition to persistent healthy behaviours following such interventions during pregnancy. Further meta-analyses of RCTs studies should be done to confirm the effectiveness of such interventions among Chinese women. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

The interrelation among maternal dietary intake, pregravid weight, amount and pattern of gestational weight gain and cigarette smoking in influencing the balance between fetal growth and maternal postpartum weight retention was in investigated in 1,330 healthy participants in the PEI Nutritional Counselling Program. Among nonsmokers, gestational weight gain was the main predictor of postpartum weight retention and explained 65.3% of its variability, while explaining only 4.7% of infant birth weight variability. Women with higher postpartum weight retention gained more weight during pregnancy and most of the difference between higher and lower weight retention groups occurred in the first 20 weeks. When comparing infant size between smoking and nonsmoking mothers, birth weight increased linearly with maternal weight gain in all weight status groups except in overweight nonsmokers where birth weight reached a plateau at weight gains $>$17 kg. Among smokers, infant length increased at a higher rate with weight gain than nonsmokers. Although higher weight gains seemed to partially mitigate the effect of smoking on the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, such risk remained $>$10% at elevated weight gains among underweight smokers. The effects of smoking in reducing maternal and infant weights were not mediated by lower energy intake, as smokers consumed more energy than nonsmokers after controlling for physical activity and pregravid weight. The independent relative risks of SGA infants due to maternal smoking, pregravid underweight and low weight gain, were 3.23, 1.80 and 1.72 respectively, implying that smoking has the greatest effect on SGA. Based on current smoking prevalence in Canada, the population etiologic fraction of SGA due to the direct effect of smoking is 30.8%; approximately twice that for maternal underweight or low weight gain. Efforts to increase infant birth weight through higher maternal weight gain would require impractically high ene

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship- between prenatal weight gain relative to initial weight and change in smoking habits relative to prepregnancy smoking habits on infant birth weight. The convenience sample was 100 women who had been prenatal clients at a clinic for low income women and who delivered term infants during a one year period. Women were selected who had term deliveries and were without medical problems during the pregnancy.Prepregnancy weight-for-height was determined using the 1959 Metropolitan Life Insurance Table. Weight gain throughout the pregnancy was charted on the appropriate graph. Changes in smoking habits during the pregnancy were evaluated verbally. Roy's Adaptation Model was the conceptual framework for this study. The physiological mode of this model depicts people as individuals who are constantly adapting to a changing environment. Procedures for the protection of human subjects were followed.The first research question illustrated that women who gained adequate weight and reduced or quit smoking had infants with higher birth weights. The second research question showed that, overall, women who quit or reduced the amount smoked early in pregnancy had infants with higher birth weights than women who quit or reduced later in pregnancy or-who did not change smoking habits. The third research question determined that nonsmokers had infants with higher birth weights than smokers.Women who smoke will have infants with lower birth weights than those that do not smoke. Women with inadequate weight gains during pregnancy are more likely to have infants: with lower birth weights than women with adequate weight gains. Health care providers must be able to relay, the risks of inadequate weight gain and smoking to pregnant women. / School of Nursing

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal and infant factors associated with body mass index (e.g., maternal weight gain, infant birth weight, infant feeding methods, and motor coordination) among obese pre-adolescents and adolescents aged 8-18 years enrolled in the Pediatric OverWeight Education and Research (POWER) program operated by Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, IN, between October 2008 and September 2011. POWER, a three-phase, 12-month multi-disciplinary program to reduce childhood obesity funded by Indiana University Health, enrolls obese children (Body Mass Index [BMI] greater than the 95th percentile for age and gender) through referrals from pediatricians throughout Indiana. Prior to the child’s initial visit, each family completes a comprehensive background and family history profile, approved by the Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI) Institutional Review Board, that includes questions related to the obese child’s motor skill development, infant feeding methods, maternal prenatal weight gain, and infant birth weight. Data related to these four categories collected during Phase 1 (12 weeks) was examined using date from 253 pre-adolescents (8-12 years of age), and 285 adolescents (13-18 years of age), to determine their impact on the subjects’ BMI. No relationship between a mother’s prenatal weight gain and the child’s BMI was seen. There was a significant correlation between infant birth weight and BMI in the pre-adolescent group. Breastfed subjects entered the POWER program at a lower BMI than non-breast fed subjects and had consistently lower BMIs throughout the program compared to the non-breastfed subjects. Differences in physical activity were observed between adolescents and pre-adolescents. Paired analysis indicated the POWER program was associated with a significant reduction in BMI overall, and among both age groups throughout Phase 1 of the program. Adolescents were especially successful in reducing their BMI compared to preadolescents. Further research is needed to identify the association of maternal and infant factors and BMI among obese children. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographic references (leaves 46-50, 89-94, 128-132). Also available on microfilm.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Idaho, May 2006. / Major professor: Dennis Dolny. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-51). Also available online in PDF format.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-251). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.