Control systems engineering for optimizing a prenatal weight gain intervention to regulate infant birth weight.
OBJECTIVE
We used dynamical systems modeling to describe how a prenatal behavioral intervention that adapts to the needs of each pregnant woman may help manage gestational weight gain and alter the obesogenic intrauterine environment to regulate infant birth weight.


METHODS
This approach relies on integrating mechanistic energy balance, theory of planned behavior, and self-regulation models to describe how internal processes can be impacted by intervention dosages, and reinforce positive outcomes (e.g., healthy eating and physical activity) to moderate gestational weight gain and affect birth weight.


RESULTS
A simulated hypothetical case study from MATLAB with Simulink showed how, in response to our adaptive intervention, self-regulation helps adjust perceived behavioral control. This, in turn, changes the woman's intention and behavior with respect to healthy eating and physical activity during pregnancy, affecting gestational weight gain and infant birth weight.


CONCLUSIONS
This article demonstrates the potential for real-world applications of an adaptive intervention to manage gestational weight gain and moderate infant birth weight. This model could be expanded to examine the long-term sustainable impacts of an intervention that varies according to the participant's needs on maternal postpartum weight retention and child postnatal eating behavior.
Jennifer S. Savage is with Center for Childhood Obesity Research and Department of Nutritional Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Danielle Symons Downs is with Exercise Psychology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Pennsylvania State University. Yuwen Dong and Daniel E. Rivera are with Control Systems Engineering Laboratory, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe.
Jennifer S
JS
Savage
Danielle Symons
DS
Downs
Yuwen
Y
Dong
Daniel E
DE
Rivera
D001724:Birth Weight; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004032:Diet; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D015430:Weight Gain