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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 The present study aimed to assess dietary intake and evaluate the degree of agreement of group-level dietary intake as measured by 24-h recall against a 4-day diet record among postpartum women with overweight and obesity. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted of 110 Swedish women with a body mass index of ≥27 kg m−2 at 6-15 weeks postpartum who were recruited to a weight loss trial and randomised to diet intervention or control. One 24-h recall was conducted among all women prior to randomisation. In addition, women subsequently randomised to diet intervention also conducted a 4-day diet record before receiving dietary treatment ( n = 54). Paired tests were used to evaluate agreement of group-level dietary intake as measured by 24-h recall against 4-day diet record among women randomised to diet intervention. Results Women reported a median (25th and 75th percentiles) energy intake of 9.1 (6.9, 11.7) MJ day−1 and an intake of fibre, vitamin D, folate and iron below the recommended intake as assessed by 24-h recall prior to randomisation ( n = 110). Group-level median intakes of energy (9.9 versus 10.0 MJ day−1), fibre (21.9 versus 21.3 g day−1), vitamin D (4.8 versus 6.5 μg day−1), folate (296 versus 287 μg day−1), iron (11.0 versus 11.3 mg day−1) and calcium (915 versus 968 mg day−1) did not differ significantly between the methods; however, the record captured a higher energy-adjusted intake of fat, saturated fat and alcohol, as well as a lower intake of carbohydrates, compared to the recall ( n = 54). Conclusions We found no difference in group-level estimates of energy or micronutrients between the recall and the record; however, there were some differences for macronutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]