Activity Behaviors Before and During Pregnancy Are Associated With Women's Device-Measured Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Later Parenthood: A Longitudinal Cohort Analysis.
Journal of physical activity & health 2023
Hesketh KR, Baird J, Crozier SR, Godfrey KM, Harvey NC, Cooper C, van Sluijs EMF
DOI : 10.1123/jpah.2022-0630
PubMed ID : 37573030
PMCID :
URL : https://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2022-0630
Abstract
To explore how activity behaviors before/during pregnancy relate to those in later parenthood, we assessed associations between sitting and moderate-/strenuous exercise before/during pregnancy, and sedentary time (SED) and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) 4-7 years postpartum ("later parenthood").
Longitudinal data were from the Southampton Women's Survey, United Kingdom. Women reported time spent sitting (in hours per day), in moderate-strenuous exercise (hours per week), and in strenuous exercise (hours per week) at 3 time points before/during pregnancy (ie, preconception, at ∼12-wk and ∼34-wk gestation). From this, we derived 3 behavior trajectories for each woman. In later parenthood, women wore an accelerometer for ≤7 days (mean: 5.4 [SD: 1.8] d), which we used to derive 2 outcomes: minutes per day SED and in MVPA. Multilevel linear regression was used to explore associations between trajectories before/during pregnancy and device-measured SED/MVPA in later parenthood.
A total of 780 women provided valid data before/during pregnancy and in later parenthood. Consistent high sitters (vs low) were more sedentary 4-7 years postpartum (β = 39.5 min/d [95% confidence interval, 23.26 to 55.82]), as were women in groups who sat more in later pregnancy. Consistently high moderate/-strenuous exercisers (vs low) were 22% (95% confidence interval, 2%-47%) more active in later parenthood; those engaging in strenuous activity preconception tended to have higher MVPA as parents.
Trajectories of sitting and exercise before/during pregnancy are associated with SED and MVPA, respectively, in later parenthood. Interventions to reduce sitting in pregnancy and to encourage higher intensity activity preconception may benefit maternal and child health.