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Cited by 62Gestational Diabetes Research and ManagementObesity, Physical Activity, DietBirth, Development, and Health

The effects of dietary and lifestyle interventions among pregnant women with overweight or obesity on early childhood outcomes: an individual participant data meta-analysis from randomised trials

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Louise, Jennie, Poprzeczny, Amanda J., Deussen, Andrea R., Vinter, Christina, Tanvig, Mette, Jensen, Dorte Moller, Bogaerts, Annick, Devlieger, Roland +8 more·2021·BMC Medicine
DOI 10.1186/s12916-021-01995-6PMC PMC8170974
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Abstract

Background: The impact of maternal obesity extends beyond birth, being independently associated with an increased risk of child obesity. Current evidence demonstrates that women provided with a dietary intervention during pregnancy improve their dietary quality and have a modest reduction in gestational weight gain. However, the effect of this on longer-term childhood obesity-related outcomes is unknown. Methods: We conducted an individual participant data meta-analysis from RCTs in which women with a singleton, live gestation between 10+0 and 20+0 weeks and body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m 2 in early pregnancy were randomised to a diet and/or lifestyle intervention or continued standard antenatal care and in which longer-term maternal and child follow-up at 3–5 years of age had been undertaken. The primary childhood outcome was BMI z-score above the 90th percentile. Secondary childhood outcomes included skinfold thickness measurements and body circumferences, fat-free mass, dietary and physical activity patterns, blood pressure, and neurodevelopment. Results: Seven primary trials where follow-up of participants occurred were identified by a systematic literature search within the International Weight Management in Pregnancy (i-WIP) Collaborative Group collaboration, with six providing individual participant data. No additional studies were identified after a systematic literature search. A total of 2529 children and 2383 women contributed data. Approximately 30% of all child participants had a BMI z-score above the 90th percentile, with no significant difference between the intervention and control groups (aRR 0.97; 95% CI 0.87, 1.08; p=0.610). There were no statistically significant differences identified for any of the secondary outcome measures. Conclusions: In overweight and obese pregnant women, we found no evidence that maternal dietary and/or lifestyle intervention during pregnancy modifies the risk of early childhood obesity. Future research may need to target the pre-conception period in women and early childhood interventions. Trial registration: PROSPERO, CRD42016047165

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  • Larger pooled analyses reinforce that antenatal interventions alone show limited durability in improving offspring cardiometabolic risk, underscoring the importance of optimizing health before conception.

    “Nevertheless, larger pooled analyses reinforce that antenatal interventions alone show limited durability in improving offspring cardiometabolic risk, underscoring the importance of optimizing health before conception [186].”

    From Maternal Overnutrition and Fetal Programming: Long-Term Metabolic, Cognitive, and Epigenetic Consequences (2026) · cites this paper as [186]

    The Discussion (Overall findings) reports no evidence that antenatal interventions improved child weight or adiposity at ages 3–5, and the Discussion (Findings into context with the literature) calls for optimizing maternal health and weight before conception. These findings support limited lasting effects on obesity-related measures, but the claim extends them to offspring cardiometabolic risk more broadly than the reported outcomes establish. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Louise, J., Poprzeczny, A. J., Deussen, A. R., Vinter, C., Tanvig, M., Jensen, D. M., Bogaerts, A., Devlieger, R., McAuliffe, F. M., Renault, K. M., Carlsen, E., Geiker, N., Poston, L., Briley, A., Thangaratinam, S., & Dodd, J. M.
Affiliations
  • The University of Adelaide (AU)
  • Women's and Children's Hospital (AU)
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • University of Antwerp (BE)
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • University College Dublin (IE)
  • University of Copenhagen (DK)
  • Hvidovre Hospital (DK)
  • St Thomas' Hospital (GB)
  • University of Birmingham (GB)
Corresponding author
Dodd, Jodie M.
ORCID
Venue
BMC Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-06-02
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
128-128
ISSN
1741-7015 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12916-021-01995-6
PMC
PMC8170974
OpenAlex
W3165111661
Cited by
62
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 1
FWCI
1.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Lenus, The Irish Health Repository (Dr Steevens Hospital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
National Health and Medical Research Council (1143773, 1078980)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Gestational Diabetes Research and Management
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
Keywords
maternal obesity, maternal overweight, pregnancy, dietary intervention, lifestyle intervention, early childhood obesity, gestational weight gain, prenatal care, skinfold thickness, fat-free mass, physical activity, blood pressure, brain development
MeSH terms
Child, Child, Preschool, Diet, Female, Humans, Life Style, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Pregnant People, Overweight, Pediatric Obesity

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