Eating for Two in the Obesity Era

Women who begin pregnancy overweight or obese or who experience excessive gestational weight gain are at risk for adverse obstetric outcomes. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 44 randomized trials of lifestyle interventions designed to curtail weight gain during pregnancy. The selected trials enrolled >7000 women; interventions involved dietary modifications, physical exercise, or both.

Women participating in interventions had lower gestational weight gain than those who did not (reduction in weight gain, 1.4 kg). Participation in any intervention was associated with significantly lower risk for preeclampsia (relative risk, 0.7) and shoulder dystocia (RR, 0.4) and with trends toward lower risk for gestational diabetes, gestational hyp…