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A Stepwise Approach to Prescribe Dietary Advice for Weight Management in Postpartum and Midlife Women

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Abstract

Weight retention and weight gain during the postpartum and midlife period subsequently increase the risk of chronic health conditions, thereby deteriorating the overall health. Dietary intervention is the pivotal component of sustainable weight management. However, in resource restricted settings, where dietitians may not be present, other healthcare professionals such as physicians, obstetricians, and paediatricians should play a vital role in providing timely weight management advice to these women. Therefore, this article provides dietary advice including the setting of realistic weight loss goals, identifying an individual’s calorie needs, distribution of macronutrients and consideration of important micronutrients. Healthcare professionals can follow the stepwise approach to prescribe dietary advice to postpartum and midlife women for their weight management. Various dietary principles such as cultural and regional preferences of an individual, portion size, hypocaloric diets, nutrient-dense meals, eating habits, cultural beliefs and myths along with co-morbid conditions should be taken into consideration by healthcare professionals while providing the dietary prescription.

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Conceptualisation and methodology were done by PR and AM. Literature review, writing, revisions were done by DK and AV. Supervision and critical review were provided by AM, AK and JM.

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Correspondence to Piyush Ranjan.

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Anita Malhotra, Associate Professor, Department of Home Science, Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; Aditi Verma, PhD Scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; Divjyot Kaur, PhD Scholar, Department of Home Science, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; Piyush Ranjan, Additional Professor, Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, 110029, India; Archana Kumari, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India; Jagmeet Madan, Professor, Department of Food Nutrition and Dietetics, Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College of Home Science, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai, India.

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Malhotra, A., Verma, A., Kaur, D. et al. A Stepwise Approach to Prescribe Dietary Advice for Weight Management in Postpartum and Midlife Women. J Obstet Gynecol India 72, 114–124 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-022-01643-w

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