INTERNET-AIDED PREVENTION OF PREGNANCY-INDUCED OBESITY

最近的调查显示，超过一半的美国成年人超重或肥胖，肥胖在美国已成为一种流行病。肥胖很难治疗，相对而言，很少有人能成功地长期维持体重。这些事实使预防肥胖成为一个重要目标。目前的应用目标是预防非裔美国妇女的妊娠相关肥胖。怀孕是肥胖的高危时期。怀孕后的平均体重保留为2-5磅，但许多女性在产后保留的体重要多得多。先前的研究表明，非裔美国女性在怀孕后比白种人保持更多的体重，并且不太可能通过饮食来减掉怀孕期间多余的体重。非裔美国女性的肥胖率高于白种人，怀孕在这一人群中所起的作用尚不清楚。本申请描述了一项随机、对照、平行臂的非裔美国妇女产后干预研究。本建议的总体目标是评估传统与互联网辅助行为改变对产后非裔美国妇女体重管理的有效性。除了面对面的小组会议外，还将使用基于互联网的干预，以允许更广泛的行为反馈和与干预者的联系。因此，这一建议利用创新技术来预防超重风险极高的人群的肥胖。该研究将解决一个主要假设，即使用互联网辅助行为干预将比传统的行为干预计划更有效地预防产后体重过多。56名以前不肥胖的产后妇女在怀孕后保留了25磅的多余体重，将在这个试点项目中进行研究。所有受试者将接受12个双月小组会议，提供健康饮食、活动和减肥的核心信息。一半的受试者将被分配到一个实验组，其中包括互联网辅助的行为矫正，以补充小组会议。在核心小组干预之后，网络干预将持续3个月，总共干预9个月。控制组将只接收组会话。该应用程序解决了我们在非洲裔美国妇女中有效预防肥胖策略知识的关键空白，这是一个肥胖高风险群体。此外，这些研究使我们能够解决预防怀孕后肥胖发展的方法，这与所有女性都有关。

Obesity is reaching epidemic proportion in the United States with recent surveys showing that over half of all U.S. adults are overweight or obese. Obesity is difficult and treat and relatively few individuals are successful at long-term maintenance of weight loss. These facts make prevention of obesity an important goal. The present application targets the prevention of pregnancy-associated obesity in African-American women. Pregnancy is a high-risk time for the development of obesity. The average weight retention after pregnancy is 2-5 pounds but many women retain considerably more weight postpartum. Previous studies have shown that African-American women retain more weight following pregnancy than Caucasians and are less likely to diet to loss the excess pregnancy weight. African-American women have a higher rate of obesity than Caucasians, and the role of pregnancy in the obesity of this population is unknown. The present application describes a randomized, controlled, parallel-arm intervention study in postpartum African-American women. The overall goal of the present proposal is to evaluate the effectiveness of traditional versus Internet-aided behavior modification for weight management in postpartum African-American women. The Internet-based intervention will be used in addition to face-to-face group sessions to allow for more extensive behavioral feedback and contact with interventionists. Thus, this proposal makes use of innovative technology in the prevention of obesity in a population at extremely high risk for excess weight gain. The research will address the primary hypothesis that the use of the Internet-aided behavior intervention will be more effective than traditional behavioral intervention program in preventing excess postpartum weight retention. Fifty-six previously non-obese postpartum women who retained > 25 pounds of excess weight after pregnancy will be studied in this pilot program. All subjects will receive 12 bimonthly group sessions providing core information on healthy diet, activity, and weight loss. Half the subjects will be assigned to an experimental arm involving an Internet-aided behavioral modification to supplement group sessions. The Internet intervention will continue for 3 months past the core group intervention for a total of 9 months of intervention. The control group will receive only the group sessions. This application addresses a critical gap in our knowledge of effective obesity preention strategies in African-American women, a group at high risk for obesity. In addition, these studies allow us to address ways of preventing the development of obesity following pregnancy, which has relevance to all women.