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Effectiveness of a Smartphone App to Promote Healthy Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy (HealthyMoms): Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sandborg, J, Söderström, E, Henriksson, P, Bendtsen, M, Henström, M, Leppänen, MH, Maddison, R, Migueles, JH, Blomberg, M, Löf, M
JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2021;9(3):e26091
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Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is associated with increased risk of caesarean delivery, gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and obesity in both mother and child. In the last decade, the use of digital technologies (eg, mobile Health [mHealth]) to deliver lifestyle interventions has increased. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the HealthyMoms app on GWG (primary outcome), body fatness, dietary habits (Swedish Healthy Eating Index), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, glycaemia, and insulin resistance (secondary outcomes) in gestational week 37 among Swedish women. This study is a 2-arm parallel design randomised controlled trial. A total of 305 pregnant women were enrolled and randomised into either the intervention group or the control group. Participants in the intervention group, in addition to standard maternity care, received the HealthyMoms app which is a 6-month program aimed at promoting recommended GWG. Results did not show any statistically significant effect of the app on GWG; however, there was some evidence that women who were overweight or obese before pregnancy gained less weight in the intervention group as compared with the control group. Authors conclude that this intervention, solely delivered through an app, has potential to be useful for promoting a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy in many women while using less resources from health care.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) during pregnancy is a major public health concern associated with negative health outcomes for both mother and child. Scalable interventions are needed, and digital interventions have the potential to reach many women and promote healthy GWG. Most previous studies of digital interventions have been small pilot studies or have not included women from all BMI categories. We therefore examined the effectiveness of a smartphone app in a large sample (n=305) covering all BMI categories. OBJECTIVE To investigate the effectiveness of a 6-month intervention (the HealthyMoms app) on GWG, body fatness, dietary habits, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), glycemia, and insulin resistance in comparison to standard maternity care. METHODS A 2-arm parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted. Women in early pregnancy at maternity clinics in Östergötland, Sweden, were recruited. Eligible women who provided written informed consent completed baseline measures, before being randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either an intervention (n=152) or control group (n=153). The control group received standard maternity care while the intervention group received the HealthyMoms smartphone app for 6 months (which includes multiple features, eg, information; push notifications; self-monitoring; and feedback features for GWG, diet, and physical activity) in addition to standard care. Outcome measures were assessed at Linköping University Hospital at baseline (mean 13.9 [SD 0.7] gestational weeks) and follow-up (mean 36.4 [SD 0.4] gestational weeks). The primary outcome was GWG and secondary outcomes were body fatness (Bod Pod), dietary habits (Swedish Healthy Eating Index) using the web-based 3-day dietary record Riksmaten FLEX, MVPA using the ActiGraph wGT3x-BT accelerometer, glycemia, and insulin resistance. RESULTS Overall, we found no statistically significant effect on GWG (P=.62); however, the data indicate that the effect of the intervention differed by pre-pregnancy BMI, as women with overweight and obesity before pregnancy gained less weight in the intervention group as compared with the control group in the imputed analyses (-1.33 kg; 95% CI -2.92 to 0.26; P=.10) and completers-only analyses (-1.67 kg; 95% CI -3.26 to -0.09; P=.031]). Bayesian analyses showed that there was a 99% probability of any intervention effect on GWG among women with overweight and obesity, and an 81% probability that this effect was over 1 kg. The intervention group had higher scores for the Swedish Healthy Eating Index at follow-up than the control group (0.27; 95% CI 0.05-0.50; P=.017). We observed no statistically significant differences in body fatness, MVPA, glycemia, and insulin resistance between the intervention and control group at follow up (P≥.21). CONCLUSIONS Although we found no overall effect on GWG, our results demonstrate the potential of a smartphone app (HealthyMoms) to promote healthy dietary behaviors as well as to decrease weight gain during pregnancy in women with overweight and obesity. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03298555; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03298555. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/13011.
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Dietary fiber intake and glycemic control: coronary artery calcification in type 1 diabetes (CACTI) study.
Basu, A, Alman, AC, Snell-Bergeon, JK
Nutrition journal. 2019;18(1):23
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The incidence of type 1 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the major vascular complication of diabetes, have been increasing wordwide. The aim of the study is to identify the associations of dietary fibre with glycaemic control. The study is a cross-sectional longitudinal study which enrolled 1257 individuals in the cross-sectional analysis and a total of 990 participants were included in the longitudinal analysis. The participants had no known history of coronary heart disease. Results indicate an inverse association between total fibre intake and the average blood glucose levels for the last two to three months in both diabetic and nondiabetic participants. Authors conclude that their study provides some evidence on the role dietary fibre intake plays on glycaemic control, which is important in the management of type 1 diabetes in patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dietary fiber has been recommended for glucose control, and typically low intakes are observed in the general population. The role of fiber in glycemic control in reported literature is inconsistent and few reports are available in populations with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS Using data from the Coronary Artery Calcification in Type 1 Diabetes (CACTI) study [n = 1257; T1D: n = 568; non-diabetic controls: n = 689] collected between March 2000 and April 2002, we examined cross-sectional (baseline) and longitudinal (six-year follow-up in 2006-2008) associations of dietary fiber and HbA1c. Participants completed a validated food frequency questionnaire, and a physical examination and fasting biochemical analyses (12 h fast) at baseline visit and at the year 6 visit. We used a linear regression model stratified by diabetes status, and adjusted for age, sex and total calories, and diabetes duration in the T1D group. We also examined correlations of dietary fiber with HbA1c. RESULTS Baseline dietary fiber intake and serum HbA1c in the T1D group were 16 g [median (IQ): 11-22 g) and 7.9 ± 1.3% mean (SD), respectively, and in the non-diabetic controls were 15 g [median (IQ): 11-21 g) and 5.4 ± 0.4%, respectively. Pearson partial correlation coefficients revealed a significant but weak inverse association of total dietary fiber with HbA1c when adjusted for age, sex, diabetes status and total calories (r = - 0.07, p = 0.01). In the adjusted linear regression model at baseline, total dietary fiber revealed a significant inverse association with HbA1c in the T1D group [β ± SE = - 0.32 ± 0.15, p = 0.034], as well as in the non-diabetic controls [- 0.10 ± 0.04, p = 0.009]. However, these results were attenuated after adjustment for dietary carbohydrates, fats and proteins, or for cholesterol and triglycerides. No such significance was observed at the year 6 follow-up, and with the HbA1c changes over 6 years. CONCLUSION Thus, at observed levels of intake, total dietary fiber reveals modest inverse associations with poor glycemic control. Future studies must further investigate the role of overall dietary quality adjusting for fiber-rich foods in T1D management.