The influence of energy metabolism on postpartum weight retention

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2019-06, Vol.109 (6), p.1588-1599
• Main Authors: Pereira, Leticia C R, Elliott, Sarah A, McCargar, Linda J, Bell, Rhonda C, Vu, Khanh, Bell, Gordon, Robson, Paula J, Prado, Carla M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Weight; breastfeeding; Calorimetry; Cardiorespiratory fitness; Childbirth & labor; Cohort Studies; Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry; Energy; Energy expenditure; Energy management; Energy measurement; Energy Metabolism; fat mass; Female; Fitness; Gestational Weight Gain; Humans; Metabolism; Oxygen Consumption; Postpartum; Postpartum Period - metabolism; postpartum weight retention; postpartum women; Quotients; Regression analysis; Regression models; Respiratory quotient; Retention; Sleep; Variance analysis; Weight; whole body calorimetry; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy389

Profiling postpartum energy metabolism may assist in optimizing weight management following childbirth. The aims of this study were to profile total energy expenditure (TEE), resting energy expenditure (REE), exercise energy expenditure, sleep energy expenditure, and respiratory quotient in women at 3 and 9 mo postpartum (3M-PP, 9M-PP, respectively), and to examine the association between energy metabolism and postpartum weight retention (PPWR). In this cohort study, 1-h REE (measured in a whole body calorimetry unit, WBCU) and body composition (BC, measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were measured at 3M-PP and 9M-PP (n = 49). Cardiorespiratory fitness [measured by the predicted maximal volume of oxygen consumption (pV˙O2 max), n = 47] and 24-h TEE (WBCU, n = 43) were assessed only at 9M-PP. Women were stratified as high (>4.8 kg) or low (≤ 4.8 kg) weight retainers. Two-way mixed repeated-measures ANOVA and longitudinal regression models were applied. Linear regression was used to generate an equation at 3M-PP from the BC data, to predict the REE at 9M-PP. The fat mass at 3M-PP was positively associated with PPWR at 3M-PP (mean ± SE β: 0.09 ± 0.03; P = 0.005) and 9M-PP (β: 0.11 ± 0.04; P = 0.008), and negatively associated with REE at 3M-PP (β: −0.16 ± 0.02; P