Starting Pediatric Obesity Prevention in Pregnancy

The long-term goal of this research is to prevent obesity-related adverse health outcomes for future generations by applying information emerging from social network studies to the development of new population-based behavioral interventions. There are a number of critical periods during fetal development that appear to influence the later development of obesity. Interventions that prevent insult to these critical windows from occurring could improve children's life course trajectories. This project sets the groundwork for examining whether social networks could explicitly be utilized to support women in gaining weight during pregnancy within their clinically recommended weight gain target.

Inclusion criteria

• any race/ethnicity
• speak Spanish or English
• ≥16 years
• >10 and <28 weeks pregnant
• in prenatal care
• anticipating remaining in Middle Tennessee for their full gestation
• willing to sign a medical information release form so that we can abstract weight measures from their obstetric and pediatric records

Exclusion criteria

• speak neither Spanish or English
• <16 years
• < 10 weeks or >28 weeks pregnant
• not in prenatal care
• anticipating leaving Middle Tennessee before full gestation
• unwilling to sign medical information release form
• current or past (within last 12 months) enrollment in another research program that targets weight, physical activity, nutrition