Samantha Ehrlich, from the Department of Public Health, and colleagues have an article published in the newest volume of The Lancet: Diabetes & Endocrinology Journal, focusing on the impact of obesity and gestational weight gain (GWG) in pregnant women and the child’s risk of obesity. As part of their study, the researchers utilized the GLOW intervention, which is an evidence-based program that can be adapted and adopted by health-care delivery systems to prevent excess weight gain during pregnancy, and improve health behaviors and markers of insulin resistance among women with overweight or obesity. The GLOW intervention is primarily a tele-health intervention (i.e., delivered by telephone), which is rather timely given the COVID pandemic and current need to expand the provision of tele-health services. Multiple studies have shown that gaining too much weight during pregnancy further compounds these risks. Women entering pregnancy with overweight or obesity are at increased risk of several adverse outcomes (gestational diabetes, caesarean delivery, having a large for gestational age infant, and post-partum weight retention, and the child’s risk of obesity). Therefore, improving pregnancy weight gain among women with overweight or obesity is a public health priority. Read the full article.
