Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy
Objective to investigate women's physical activity levels, diet and gestational weight gain, and their experiences and motivations of behavior change. Design analysis of cross-sectional data collected during a longitudinal, cohort study examining physiological, psychological, sociodemogr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40958/ |
| _version_ | 1848796172010913792 |
|---|---|
| author | Swift, Judy A. Elliott-Sale, Kirsty J. Pearce, Jo Jethwa, Preeti H. Taylor, Moira A. Avery, Amanda Ellis, Sarah Langley-Evans, Simon C. McMullen, Sarah |
| author_facet | Swift, Judy A. Elliott-Sale, Kirsty J. Pearce, Jo Jethwa, Preeti H. Taylor, Moira A. Avery, Amanda Ellis, Sarah Langley-Evans, Simon C. McMullen, Sarah |
| author_sort | Swift, Judy A. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Objective
to investigate women's physical activity levels, diet and gestational weight gain, and their experiences and motivations of behavior change.
Design
analysis of cross-sectional data collected during a longitudinal, cohort study examining physiological, psychological, sociodemographic, and self-reported behavioural measures relating to bodyweight.
Setting
women recruited from routine antenatal clinics at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Participants
193 women ≤27 weeks gestation and aged 18 years or over.
Measurements & findings
measurements included weight and height, the Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education (Brief Version), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Form), and open questions of perceptions of behaviour change. 50.3% (n=97) were overweight/obese, and women gained 0.26 kg/wk (IQR 0.34 kg/wk) since conception. The majority consumed low levels of fat (n=121; 63.4%), high levels of unsaturated fat (n=103; 53.9%), and used a dietary supplement (n=166; 86.5%). However, 41% (n=76) were inactive, 74.8% (n=143) did not consume high levels of fibre, and 90.0% (n=171) consumed less than 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Body mass index category was not associated with diet, physical activity levels, or gestational weight gain. Themes generated from open-questions relating to behaviour change were: (1) Risk management, (2) Coping with symptoms, (3) Self-control, (4) Deviation from norm, (5) Nature knows best.
Conclusions
early pregnancy is a period of significant and heterogeneous behaviour change, influenced by perceptions of risk and women's lived experience. Behaviour was influenced not only by perceptions of immediate risk to the fetus, but also by the women's lived experience of being pregnant.
Implications for practice: There are exciting opportunities to constructively reframe health promotion advice relating to physical activity and diet in light of women's priorities. The need for individualized advice is highlighted, and women across all body mass index categories would benefit from improved diet and physical activity levels. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:43:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-40958 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:43:45Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-409582020-05-04T19:57:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40958/ Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy Swift, Judy A. Elliott-Sale, Kirsty J. Pearce, Jo Jethwa, Preeti H. Taylor, Moira A. Avery, Amanda Ellis, Sarah Langley-Evans, Simon C. McMullen, Sarah Objective to investigate women's physical activity levels, diet and gestational weight gain, and their experiences and motivations of behavior change. Design analysis of cross-sectional data collected during a longitudinal, cohort study examining physiological, psychological, sociodemographic, and self-reported behavioural measures relating to bodyweight. Setting women recruited from routine antenatal clinics at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Participants 193 women ≤27 weeks gestation and aged 18 years or over. Measurements & findings measurements included weight and height, the Dietary Instrument for Nutrition Education (Brief Version), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (Short Form), and open questions of perceptions of behaviour change. 50.3% (n=97) were overweight/obese, and women gained 0.26 kg/wk (IQR 0.34 kg/wk) since conception. The majority consumed low levels of fat (n=121; 63.4%), high levels of unsaturated fat (n=103; 53.9%), and used a dietary supplement (n=166; 86.5%). However, 41% (n=76) were inactive, 74.8% (n=143) did not consume high levels of fibre, and 90.0% (n=171) consumed less than 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Body mass index category was not associated with diet, physical activity levels, or gestational weight gain. Themes generated from open-questions relating to behaviour change were: (1) Risk management, (2) Coping with symptoms, (3) Self-control, (4) Deviation from norm, (5) Nature knows best. Conclusions early pregnancy is a period of significant and heterogeneous behaviour change, influenced by perceptions of risk and women's lived experience. Behaviour was influenced not only by perceptions of immediate risk to the fetus, but also by the women's lived experience of being pregnant. Implications for practice: There are exciting opportunities to constructively reframe health promotion advice relating to physical activity and diet in light of women's priorities. The need for individualized advice is highlighted, and women across all body mass index categories would benefit from improved diet and physical activity levels. Elsevier 2017-06 Article PeerReviewed Swift, Judy A., Elliott-Sale, Kirsty J., Pearce, Jo, Jethwa, Preeti H., Taylor, Moira A., Avery, Amanda, Ellis, Sarah, Langley-Evans, Simon C. and McMullen, Sarah (2017) Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy. Midwifery, 49 . pp. 40-46. ISSN 0266-6138 Pregnancy; Body Mass Index; BMI; physical activity; diet; gestational weight gain http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266613817300839 doi:10.1016/j.midw.2017.01.016 doi:10.1016/j.midw.2017.01.016 |
| spellingShingle | Pregnancy; Body Mass Index; BMI; physical activity; diet; gestational weight gain Swift, Judy A. Elliott-Sale, Kirsty J. Pearce, Jo Jethwa, Preeti H. Taylor, Moira A. Avery, Amanda Ellis, Sarah Langley-Evans, Simon C. McMullen, Sarah Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title | Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title_full | Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title_fullStr | Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title_short | Antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| title_sort | antenatal weight management: diet, physical activity, and gestational weight gain in early pregnancy |
| topic | Pregnancy; Body Mass Index; BMI; physical activity; diet; gestational weight gain |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40958/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40958/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40958/ |