A meta-review of systematic reviews of lifestyle interventions for reducing gestational weight gain in women with overweight or obesity

Women with overweight or obesity are twice as likely to gain excessive gestational weight than women of normal weight. Identifying effective interventions to support this group achieve healthy gestational weight gain is important. An overview of systematic reviews regarding the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions on gestational weight gain in women with overweight or obesity was undertaken, including searching eight electronic databases. Quality of included reviews was assessed by two independent researchers. A narrative data synthesis was undertaken, with subgroup and sensitivity analyses by type of intervention and quality of the included reviews. A total of 15 systematic reviews were included within this meta-review. A small reduction in gestational weight gain of between 0.3 and 2.4 kg was noted with lifestyle interventions compared with standard care. There was some evidence that dietary only or physical activity only interventions may reduce the odds of gestational diabetes. No differences were noted in the odds of other maternal or infant health outcomes. Although lifestyle interventions appeared to decrease gestational weight gain, current evidence does not show a clear benefit on maternal and infant outcomes from the small nature of the reduction in gestational weight gain produced by lifestyle interventions in women with overweight or obesity.