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Clinical Research

Prenatal education of overweight or obese pregnant women to prevent childhood overweight (the ETOIG study): an open-label, randomized controlled trial

International Journal of Obesity volume 43, pages 362–373 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

We aimed to evaluate whether pre and perinatal education of pregnant women would reduce childhood overweight.

Methods

Four French centers included women at ≤21 gestational weeks (GWs) with body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2 before pregnancy. Patients were randomized to a control group (routine care including at least one dietary visit) or an intervention group (2 individuals (26 and 30 GW) and 4 group sessions (21, 28, 35 GW, 2 months postpartum)) aimed at educating the future mother regarding infant and maternal nutrition. The primary objective was to reduce post-natal excessive weight gain in the infant from birth to 2 years (NCT00804765). This project was funded by a grant from the National Programme for Hospital Research (PHRC-2007 French Ministry of Health).

Results

We included 275 women (BMI: 32.5 kg/m2). The rate of post-natal excessive weight gain was similar in the intervention (n = 132) and control (n = 136) groups by intention to treat (ITT: 59.1% vs 60.3% respectively, p = 0.84) in available data (AD, n = 206) and by per-protocol analysis (PP, n = 177). Two years after delivery, normalization of maternal BMI and number of infants with BMI < 19 kg/m2 were not significantly different in the interventional group in ITT and in the control group. Although not significantly different in ITT, normalization of maternal BMI was more frequent in AD (n = 149: 12.9% vs 3.8%, p = 0.04) and 2-year-old infant BMIs were less likely to be >19 kg/m2 in the intervention group in AD (n = 204: 0% vs 6.8%, p = 0.014) and PP (n = 176: 0% vs 6.4%, p = 0.03).

Conclusions

An education and nutritional counseling program for overweight women, starting after 3 months of gestation, did not significantly change post-natal excessive weight gain of infants or prevent overweight in mothers and children 2 years after delivery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Christelle Auger, Valérie Jolaine, Christelle Turuban, and France Binet (Paris Descartes Clinical Research Unit) for their help in managing the protocol and collecting the data. Fiona Ecarnot (EA3920, University Hospital Besancon, France) participated in the writing of the paper.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Sophie Parat, Véronique Nègre.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. AP-HP, Department of Medecine and Neonatal Reanimation, Hôpital Cochin-Port Royal, Paris, France

    Sophie Parat

  2. RePPOP-Franche Comte Network for Pediatric Obesity, Obesity Specialized Center CHU Nice, Paris, France

    Véronique Nègre

  3. URC/CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin, Paris, France

    Amandine Baptiste, Jean-Marc Tréluyer & Caroline Elie

  4. AP-HP, CRNH-IdF, CINFO, COMUE Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, Department of Endocrinology-Diabetology-Nutrition, Jean Verdier Hospital, Bondy, France

    Paul Valensi & Emmanuel Cosson

  5. Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, CHRU, Besançon, France

    Anne-Marie Bertrand

  6. Childhood Hospital and RePPOP Midi Pyrenees Network for Pediatric Obesity, Toulouse, France

    Christine Chollet

  7. AP-HP, Nutrition Obesity Unit, Necker Hospital, Paris, France

    Myriam Dabbas

  8. AP-HP, Department of Diabetology, HEGP, Paris, France

    Jean-Jacques Altman

  9. AP-HP, Department of Neonatology, Paris Descartes University, Hôpital Necker, Paris, France

    Alexandre Lapillonne

  10. Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Childhood Hospital and RePPOP Midi Pyrenees Network for Pediatric Obesity, Toulouse, France

    Maithé Tauber

  11. Department of Endocrinology, Paule Viguier Hospital, Toulouse, France

    Françoise Lorenzini

  12. Université Paris 13, Inserm (U1153), Inra (U1125), Centre d’Epidémiologie et Statistiques Paris Cité, Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, F-93017, Bobigny, France

    Emmanuel Cosson

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  1. Sophie Parat
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Correspondence to Sophie Parat.

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Parat, S., Nègre, V., Baptiste, A. et al. Prenatal education of overweight or obese pregnant women to prevent childhood overweight (the ETOIG study): an open-label, randomized controlled trial. Int J Obes 43, 362–373 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0205-z

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