Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Bonnie Fuller: Zach Sobiech: You Were a Huge Inspiration in Your…
When A Tornado Strikes, Should Schools Evacuate?
Pregnant Obese Women Shouldn't Gain Weight, Study Suggests
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, Research Reveals: Babies
Experts disagree on weight gain guidelines. Credit: Tobyotter, Flickr
A four-year study, launched in October by Kaiser Permanente, has begun working with obese pregnant women to ensure that they gain little or no additional weight during pregnancy.
In May, the Institute of Medicine issued guidelines lowering the minimum weight gain for obese women to just 11 pounds. Previously, guidelines had suggested a weight gain of at least 15 pounds. But researchers conducting this new study, called "Healthy Moms," say zero weight gain may be the best thing for obese pregnant women and their babies.
"It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that women control their weight during pregnancy, but these women are already carrying between 50 and 100 extra pounds - and for them any more weight gain could be very dangerous," said Vic Stevens, PhD, principal investigator who has studied weight loss and weight maintenance for more than 30 years, in a statement about the study.
Although women often make positive health changes when becoming pregnant (quitting smoking and avoiding alcohol are common), obese women tend to gain more weight than is recommended.The "Healthy Moms" trial is working with 180 obese pregnant women from Washington and Oregon who are members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan. Half will receive one-time dietary and exercise advice. The others will attend two individual counseling sessions and then weekly group counseling throughout their pregnancy. It sounds a bit like the traditional "Weight Watchers" model, but focused on a healthy pregnancy: At the group counseling sessions, women will be weighed and encouraged to keep and turn in daily food and exercise diaries.
The goal will be zero weight gain. If participants do gain weight, researchers hope to limit it to 3 percent of their baseline weight. That's a huge departure from the traditional "gain weight, because you're eating for two" instructions. But researchers say this change may help to prevent problems including preeclampsia, diabetes, birth injuries and weight retention after pregnancy.
Related: Health Problems Associated With Adult Obesity, Obese Women May Be Able To Lose Weight Safely During Pregnancy
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
- The owner of the property or debit creditor can relieve the person(s) of the debt,(a employment position or (court) is not ownership
- LAW SCHOOL OR COPYCAT would'nt it be a difficult profession ( lawyer)if anyone could use your court case defense as plaintiff or defendant
- While attempting to explain consider who your explaining to. building a government may seem like gilligan's island to a person that can't
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Lack of Sleep Leads to Almost Immediate Weight Gain: Study
A study reveals that a lack of sleep inflicts an almost immediate weight gain. A lack of sleep is nothing to take lightly. Researchers have recently concluded that losing a few hours of shuteye over the course of several consecutive nights can lead to an almost immediate weight gain. University of Colorado sleep researchers had 16 healthy men and women participate in the two-week long project.
-
How to Avoid Menopausal Weight Gain
You don't have to gain weight as a result of menopause, even though so many women do. Dietician and author Elizabeth Somer explains how to avoid weight gain after menopause.
-
How Pregnancy Weight Gain Affects Women
Dr. Cook describes how additional weight gain from carrying multiple babies affects a woman.
-
Number One Cause of Weight Gain
Kesten explains what the number one reason for weight gain is for women.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-17-2009 @ 11:49AM
Alex said...This is a really bad idea. All the research shows that limiting weight gain in pregnancy (and this would actually have women losing body weight, since zero weight gain doesn't allow for the baby, placenta, and fluids) is significantly more likely to result in babies being born premature and disabled. It also raises the risk of miscarriage and infant mortality. That's why they stopped telling women to limit pregnancy gain in the 1970s. And the supposed benefits have not been proven; that's what the study's trying to establish. I hope the women in this experiment have been informed that they are going to be doing something that's proven to be risky by decades of research, in hopes of getting a hypothetical benefit.
There's a well-researched post by an RN on this subject at the blogspot blog Junkfood Science. The post is titled "Defective premises tend to recur in new settings." (Can't insert the link.)
Reply
12-17-2009 @ 6:08PM
Melissa said...You are so right....I was slightly overweight when I became pregnant, and the dr kept telling me to only gain 15 pounds....well I gained a little more than that, like 25, and my daughter was 2 months early! My friend, who was considered obese (tipping the scales at 250 BEFORE pregnancy), gained 45 pounds and her baby was late! It is just better to do what you feel is best. If you are hungry, you eat. You don't have to have McDonald's everyday (which is what my obese friend tends to still do, two kids later, the first one is already obese, and it's sad), I munched on carrots, and graham crackers, when I got hungry in between actual meals. It's not hard for those pounds to creep on! What is hard, is starving yourself when you're pregnant!
1-21-2011 @ 9:45PM
Dottie said...I'm 5'4'' and I weighed 244 before i got pregnant just about 100lbs more than "I should" weigh. This is my 4th pregnancy and 5th baby (twins the first shot!) the doctors told me the ideal weight gain for me was 11-15 lbs. I wasn't surpirsed that they said that. I honestly didn't want to gain any weight since i've been struggling to lose weight for the past year (before this pregnancy).
Now for me i've only gained a total of 8 lbs and i'm 37 weeks, but i haven't "watched" what i ate, just kept an eye on how much i ate. The fact is, when your pregnant you AREN'T supposed to eat for two! You eat when you're hungry and try to make good choices of what you eat and how much.
I have been so fortunate this pregnancy. I'll let you all know what the baby weighs after he/she is born. I'm pretty sure it'll be a good size baby!
12-18-2009 @ 10:53AM
Gwendolyn said...I am overweight and gained 55 pounds during my pregnancy and was watching everything I ate. It turns out that I ended up with pre-eclampsia and two weeks after my son was born via c-section, I lost ALL the weight.
So sometimes the weight gain isn't from an unhealthy diet or from glutons eating for ten, it's from a medical reason that we can not control.
Reply
12-18-2009 @ 12:06PM
isisaquaria said...I have often heard both sides and negatives from both...so IDK--however, I think common sense should be used--eat healthy and you have the best shot.
Reply
1-14-2010 @ 11:23PM
Bernadette said...I agree with you statement. You posted on another blog some information about being pregnant that I would really like to hear more about. Is it possible to send you my email in order to talk about it further? I'm not sure if you are suppose to post your email on here. Thank you so much for your time.
12-18-2009 @ 6:19PM
Heather said...I am so sick of hearing about the obese... It's not always what your eating and when and so on... ITS ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE AMERICANS ARE LAZY. Its about the fact that none of the parents have rights anymore. So, if we take our kids out in public and they act up we have to go home because someone might think we are not treating our kids right... No one gets any exercise. Past generations ate the same food we are eating... the only difference is that they worked and played from sun up to sun down. We are too attached to our remotes and that is the culprit to all the weight gain. Not food... but, LAZYNESS and desire for INSTANT GRATIFICATION...
Reply
1-22-2010 @ 12:39PM
Todd said...For the health of your baby, some weight has to be gained by all mothers-to-be. After your child is born, that is the time to take better care of yourself so as to be as good a mother as you can.The best way to lose weight and to become healthier is to take responsibility for yourself! Your health is your most important asset. For many people, being overweight is associated with being uncomfortable in their own skin. To assist with weight control; keep a daily food journal and every time the urge to snack is felt, first drink a large glass of clear water. This simple act will help you to eat less. Water hydrates you, suppresses your appetite, helps you to feel full, and metabolizes fat cells. Water will soon become one of your best friends. The major reason so many people in America are overweight is because we eat too much for comfort! It does not hurt to treat ourselves with something special once in a while, what is necessary is that we limit our portions and do not overeat! It is also necessary to keep our body properly hydrated, so drink a full glass of water with each meal or snack. Being overweight ******, but after reading a book, I lost 85 pounds! Words can not express how good I feel! This is a comment which I recently received about the book Lose Weight Using Four Easy Steps
Reply
6-02-2010 @ 4:34AM
Carla said...I consider myself to be a promoted internet user and can say that your resurce is one of not many I like to come back again and again. I just hope that someone finds my search engine on rapidshare files ( http://rapidqueen.com ) that useful too
Reply