Changes in food choice during a weight loss trial with dietary treatment in postpartum women with overweight or obesity

Abstract: Title:Changes in food choice during a weight loss trial with dietary treatment in postpartum women with overweight or obesity Course: MED730, Research thesis in Clinical Nutrition, 30 ECTS Level: Second Cycle Semester/year: St/2017 Supervisor: Ena Huseinovic Examiner: Frode Slinde Keywords: Postpartum, food choice, overweight, obesity, diet intervention, weight loss Background: Overweight and obesity are an escalating problem worldwide and are major risk factors of diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type 2. Pregnancy can cause overweight as substantial weight might be gained during pregnancy or retained after delivery. Interventions including diet and/or exercise to achieve weight loss in postpartum women have been tried, with various results. The diet is the key component of weight loss and diet quality and food choice could be an important part of the diet. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate food choice at baseline in postpartum women with overweight or obesity and changes in food choice after a 12 week diet intervention and at 1 year follow-up. Methods: In Sweden, 110 postpartum women with overweight or obesity were randomized to either Diet group or Control group at 6-15 weeks postpartum. The Diet group received a 12-week diet intervention focusing on 4 dietary principles, based on the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, 2012, to produce weight loss and was provided by a face to face meeting with a dietitian and also addressed behavioral strategies. The dietary intake of both study groups was assessed with a 24-h recall at the 3 occasions; baseline, 12 weeks and 1 year follow-up. The dietary intake was categorized into 10 different food groups and the changes in intake were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Results: At baseline, potatoes/grains, dairy products and sweets/salty snacks were the major contributors to the energy intake of the women. At the end of the diet intervention the Diet group had increased the intake of vegetables (P = 0.046) and decreased the intake of sweets/salty snacks (P = 0.024) significantly more than the control group. After 1 year, no differences in changes in food choice were observed between the groups, however both groups had significantly decreased the intake of sweets/salty snacks compared to baseline. Conclusion: The results of this study indicates that a 12 week diet intervention can produce changes in food choice in line with the diet treatment in the short term, but are difficult to maintain after 1 year.