IMPROVE- Improving Maternal and Progency Obesity Via Exercise: Antenatal exercise in overweight and obese women and its effects on offspring and maternal health

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Obese women who become pregnant have increased pregnancy weight gain, pregnancy complications and their offspring develop obesity. Lifestyle interventions during pregnancy may restrict fetal overnutrition and metabolic programming of offspring disrupting the obesity cycle. The central hypothesis for this project is that increasing maternal physical activity can improve maternal and neonatal outcomes, in particular protecting the offspring from obesity. Furthermore we hypothesise that these interventions will be reflected in altered gene expression in placenta, muscle, fat and liver. This human study will confirm the clinical efficacy of moderate exercise in overweight and obese women during the last half of pregnancy. Outcome measures in will include alterations in auxology and body composition during fetal life, at birth and through childhood (latter stage will be another study), serum biochemistry and hormones. These studies represent translational research targeting the very earliest development of obesity to reduce the health burden of this major health issue.