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Background/objectives: Results from studies evaluating the sustainability of diets combining environmental and nutritional aspects have been diverse; thus, greenhouse gas emissions (that is, carbon footprint (CF)) of diets in line with dietary recommendations in free-living individuals warrants further examination. Here, changes in dietary CF related to changes in food choice during a weight loss trial among lactating women who received a 12-week diet intervention based on the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) 2004 were analyzed. The objective of this study was to examine if a diet intervention based on NNR 2004 results in reduced dietary CF.Subjects/methods: Changes in dietary CF were analyzed among 61 lactating women participating in a weight loss trial. Food intake data from 4-day weighed diet records and results from life cycle analyses were used to examine changes in dietary CF across eight food groups during the intervention, specified in the unit carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq/day). Differences in changes in dietary CF between women receiving diet treatment (D-group) and women not receiving it (ND-group) were compared.Results: There was no difference in change in dietary CF of the overall diet between D- and ND-group (P>0.05). As for the eight food groups, D-group increased their dietary CF from fruit and vegetables (+0.06±0.13 kg CO2eq/day) compared with a decrease in ND-group (-0.01±0.01 kg CO2eq/day) during the intervention, P=0.01.Conclusions: A diet intervention in line with NNR 2004 produced clinically relevant weight loss, but did not reduce dietary CF among lactating women with overweight and obesity. Dietary interventions especially designed to decrease dietary CF and their coherence with dietary recommendations need further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/objectives: Obesity, pregnancy and lactation all affect body composition. Simple methods to estimate body composition are useful in clinical practice and to evaluate interventions. In overweight and obese lactating women, such methods are not fully validated. The objective of this study was to validate the accuracy and precision of bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) by Xitron 4200 and 8-electrode multifrequency impedance (multifrequency bioimpedance analysis, MFBIA) by Tanita MC180MA with the reference methods dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and doubly labeled water (DLW) for the assessment of body composition in 70 overweight and obese women postpartum.Subjects/methods: The LEVA-study (Lifestyle for Effective Weight loss during lactation) consisted of an intervention and follow-up with three assessments at 3, 6 and 15 months postpartum, which made possible the validation of both accuracy and precision. Mean differences between methods were tested by a paired t-test and Bland-Altman plots for systematic bias.Results: At baseline, BIS and MFBIA underestimated fat mass (FM) by 2.6±2.8 and 8.0±4.2 kg compared with DXA (P<0.001) but without systematic bias. BIS and MFBIA overestimated total body water (TBW) by 2.4±2.2 and 4.4±3.2 kg (P<0.001) compared with DLW, with slight systematic bias by BIS. BIS correctly estimated muscle mass without systematic bias (P>0.05). BIS overestimated changes in TBW (P=0.01) without systematic bias, whereas MFBIA varied greatly and with systematic bias.Conclusions: BIS underestimates mean FM compared with DXA but can detect mean changes in body composition, although with large limits of agreement. BIS both accurately and precisely estimates muscle mass in overweight and obese women postpartum. MFBIA underestimates FM and overestimates TBW by proprietary equations compared with DXA and DLW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: To examine associations among eating frequency, energy intake and body weight at baseline, as well as associations among change in eating frequency and change in energy intake and weight during a 12-week successful weight loss intervention in overweight and obese postpartum women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Sixty-one Swedish women with pre-pregnancy body mass index of 25–35 kg/m2 completed a 4-day diet record at 10–14 weeks postpartum (baseline) and 12 weeks later (post-intervention), which were used to calculate energy intake and eating frequency, that is, the mean number of intake occasions per day. RESULTS: The women had a mean eating frequency of 5.9±1.2 intake occasions at baseline. A positive association was found between eating frequency and energy intake at baseline (β: 307±46 kcal, P<0.001), whereas no significant association between eating frequency and weight was observed (β: 2.3±1.2 kg, P=0.063). During the intervention period, reduced eating frequency was positively associated with energy intake reduction (β: 169±69 kcal, P=0.017) whereas no significant association was found with weight loss (β: 0.9±0.7 kg, P=0.179). Women receiving dietary intervention reduced their eating frequency more during the intervention period than did women not receiving dietary intervention (-1.0±0.7 vs -0.5±1.1, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A positive association was found between eating frequency and energy intake at baseline and between reduced eating frequency and reduced energy intake during a 12-week weight loss intervention in overweight and obese postpartum women. Intervention studies on eating frequency are warranted to elucidate its effect on energy intake and weight among postpartum women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]