Effects of Physical Activity on Human Pregnancy Energetics: Testing Maternal Metabolic Limits

每天的体力活动对健康很重要，并与怀孕期间积极的健康结果相关。然而，很少有研究考察日常体力活动对母亲卡路里需求和孕期体重增加的影响，最近的研究表明，怀孕期间卡路里的摄入和支出可能是有限的。这个项目考察了孕妇在怀孕期间的能量消耗是否有上限，并考虑了活动水平和其他生理任务之间的潜在能量权衡，如胎儿生长。项目成果可以促进关于怀孕期间人类新陈代谢和生理学的基础知识，并有助于讨论形成原始人两足动物、新陈代谢、婴儿期和生活史的选择压力。这项工作还可以为公共卫生研究以及怀孕期间的营养和运动管理提供信息。该项目支持STEM的学生培训和指导，以及人类学家和临床医生之间的合作，使临床和基础研究社区受益。研究人员通过测量大样本孕妇的每日能量消耗(卡路里/天)、每日能量摄入量(卡路里/天)、每日体力活动、体重增加和其他健康指标来测试母亲代谢限制假说。招募母亲是为了代表各种日常体力活动，从那些久坐不动并计划在怀孕期间保持久坐不动的人，到打算保持高运动工作量的运动员。母亲的日常活动和体重增加每周都会被跟踪。每个参与者的能量消耗和摄入量都被测量了两次：怀孕早期和晚期。健康结果是通过常规的医疗检查得出的。如果高度活跃的母亲在怀孕后期消耗的卡路里与久坐的母亲相同，并且如果高水平的锻炼对体重增加有负面影响，则母亲代谢限制假说得到支持。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Daily physical activity is important for health and associated with positive health outcomes during pregnancy. However, few studies have examined the impact of daily physical activity on maternal calorie requirements and gestational weight gain, and recent research suggests that calorie intake and expenditure may be limited during pregnancy. This project examines whether there are upper limits on maternal energy expenditure during pregnancy and considers potential energy tradeoffs between activity level and other physiological tasks, such as fetal growth. Project results can advance fundamental knowledge about human metabolism and physiology during pregnancy and contribute to discussions about the selective pressures that have shaped hominin bipedalism, metabolism, infancy, and life history. The work can also inform public health research and the management of nutrition and exercise during pregnancy. The project supports student training and mentoring in STEM as well as collaborations between anthropologists and clinicians that benefit both clinical and basic research communities. The investigators test Maternal Metabolic Limits hypotheses by measuring daily energy expenditure (calories/day), daily energy intake (calories/day), daily physical activity, weight gain, and other health measures in a large sample of pregnant mothers. Mothers are recruited to represent a wide range of daily physical activity, from those who are sedentary and plan to remain sedentary through pregnancy to athletes who intend to maintain high exercise workloads. Mothers’ daily activity and weight gain are tracked weekly. Energy expenditure and intake are measured twice for each participant: early and late in pregnancy. Health outcomes are taken from routine medical visits. Maternal Metabolic Limits hypotheses are supported if highly active mothers expend the same amount of calories late in pregnancy as mothers who are more sedentary, and if high levels of exercise negatively impact weight gain.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.