Abstract
【Purpose】 The present study was conducted to examine the relationships among the status of postpartum females who lost weight to the level prior to pregnancy, weight increase during pregnancy, body fat percentage, autonomic nervous activity, and self-management ability. 【Method】 The subjects were 49 females (mean 33.7 (SD±4.8) years old) who gave birth within one year and whose BMI prior to pregnancy was at the standard level (18.5 to less than 25). (1) Measurements (of the body weight and fat percentage using a dual-frequency body composition measuring device, and the autonomic nervous activity using the heart-rate variability) and (2) a questionnaire survey (on the weight increase during pregnancy and their self-management skills) were conducted involving the 49 females. 【Results】 The number of females who were able to lose weight within six months of childbirth to the level prior to pregnancy was 27(55.1%), and 22 females(44.9%)could not. In a comparison of the two groups, (1) females in the body-weight-loss group had gained body weight during pregnancy by 9.3 (SD±3.9) kg, whereas females in the non-body-weight-loss group gained body weight during pregnancy by 12.2 (SD±2.9) kg, which was more marked compared to the body-weight-loss group (p<0.01). (2) There were 20 females (74.1%) in the body-weight-loss group whose percentage body fat was higher than 25, and 19 females (86.4%) in the non-body-weight-loss group. (3) Whereas sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve activity measurements for the body-weight-loss group were 2.4 (SE±0.44) and 0.4 (SE±0.03), respectively, those for the non-body-weight-loss group were 3.2 (SE±1.07) and 0.4 (SE±0.03), respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups. The score for self-management skills received by the body-weight-loss group (30.3 (SD±3.2) points) was significantly higher than that of the non-body-weight-loss group (28.1 (SD±4.0) points) (p<0.05). 【Discussion】 To prevent obesity due to pregnancy and childbirth, it is important to continue to control the body weight and fat from the initial stage of pregnancy through to the postpartum period, and improve self-management skills related to health.
