An optimized programming of healthy children (APPROACH)

The overall aim of APPROACH is to investigate how an optimal diet and weight gain during pregnancy influences the foetal programming and thereby the offspring’s risk and signs of overweight and life style diseases during the first nine years of life.

Children of obese mothers following a diet with high protein and low GI during pregnancy will be compared with children of obese mothers following a diet according to the national recommendations during pregnancy. In both groups the palatability aspect of the New Nordic diet will be a basic diet focus.

Early strategy for preventing overweight and lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and coronary vascular diseases is most likely to be more efficient in reducing the total number of cases than treatment at a later stage.

APPROACH will contribute with scientific results that may be basis for new dietary and lifestyle strategies, policies and recommendations for overweight women that plan to be or already are pregnant.

The effect of the intervention on the foetal programming will be investigated via a following cohort study on the children from the intervened mothers; the effect will be evaluated in relation to prenatal and early growth, development and risk markers of obesity and metabolic diseases.

APPROACH is a randomized controlled intervention trial including a subsequent prospective cohort study.

Additional to the main intervention group a sub-group with enrolment earlier in their pregnancy will be included; this to investigate if there is difference in the offspring according to gestational time of initiation of dietary changes.

The prospective cohort will include six times of assessments; at birth ± 2 days, 6 months ± 2 weeks, 18 months ± 4 weeks, 36 months ± 4 weeks, 5 years ± 4 weeks and nine years ± 4 weeks.

The prospective cohort is to investigate the effect of the intervention: Reducing GWG by high-protein, low GI diet on development of overweight and obesity and signs of metabolic diseases among the offspring.

Study participants are healthy women in early first trimester with a BMI of 28-45 kg/m²