A comparison of a social support physical activity intervention in weight management among post-partum Latinas

Background: Weight gain during the childbearing years and failure to lose pregnancy weight after birth contribute to the development of obesity in postpartum Latinas. Methods: Madres para la Salud [Mothers for Health] was a 12-month, randomized controlled trial exploring a social support intervention with moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) seeking to effect changes in body fat, fat tissue inflammation, and depression symptoms in sedentary postpartum Latinas. This report describes the efficacy of the Madres intervention. Results: The results show that while social support increased during the active intervention delivery, it declined to pre-intervention levels by the end of the intervention. There were significant achievements in aerobic and total steps across the 12 months of the intervention, and declines in body adiposity assessed with bioelectric impedance. Conclusions: Social support from family and friends mediated increases in aerobic PA resulting in decrease in percent body fat. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01908959.