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BUNDOORA
FISHERMANS BEND
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HO CHI MINH CITY
HANOI
Not too little, not too much: gaining weight in pregnancy
With research showing most women either gain too much weight during pregnancy
or not enough, a new study by RMIT University and the Parenting Research Centre
aims to find out why.
“A Healthy Path to Motherhood” will explore what influences women’s health
behaviours and weight gain during pregnancy, with the aim of improving the
effectiveness of current treatment programs.
Pregnant women aged over 18 and within the first 18 weeks of pregnancy are
needed to take part in the study, which involves completing two surveys about
eating, physical activity and weight, as well as possible influencing factors including
mood, body image, and fatigue.
RMIT doctoral researcher Jessica Tata said previous studies suggested fewer than
40 per cent of women gained the recommended weight during pregnancy, with 40
per cent gaining too much and 20 per cent too little.
“There are multiple health risks associated with being underweight or overweight
during pregnancy for both the mother and baby, including pregnancy
complications, low and high infant birth weight, as well as increased risk of post-
partum weight retention for those who gain too much weight,” Ms Tata said.
“While we know the risks, the results of current treatment programs have been
mixed.
“We need a better understanding of the influences on health behaviours and
weight gain during pregnancy to improve the effectiveness of these interventions.”
Ms Tata said previous research had identified important factors that influenced
health behaviours and weight gain, such as stress, social support and body image.
“This study is unique in comprehensively considering health behaviours, weight
gain as well as a range of lifestyle influences such as the thoughts, behaviours and
emotions associated with body image and eating,” she said.
“This approach will allow us to explore in depth the relationships and relative
importance of these factors on healthy weight gain.”
For more information or to volunteer, contact Jessica Tata (jessica.tata@rmit.edu.au),
research supervisor Associate Professor Jan Matthews (jan.matthews@rmit.edu.au),
or phone the Parenting Research Centre on (03) 8660 3500.
For interviews: Jessica Tata, 0422 036 830.
For general media enquiries: RMIT University Communications, Gosia
Kaszubska, (03) 9925 3176 or 0417 510 735.
5 October, 2009
NEWS 
