Journal of Obesity & Weight Loss Therapy
Open Access

Research Article

Low-intensity Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Maternal Systemic Inflammation during Late Pregnancy

Tinius RA^1*, Cahill AG² and Cade WT¹

¹Department of Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, USA

²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rachel A Tinius
MSCI, PhD, ACSM-EP-C, School of Kinesiology
Recreation, and Sport Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd, #11089
Bowling Green, KY, USA
Tel: 270-745-5026
Fax: 270-745-6043
E-mail: rachel.tinius@wku.edu

Received Date: June 07, 2017; Accepted Date: June 25, 2017; Published Date: June 27, 2017

Citation: Tinius RA, Cahill AG, Cade WT (2017) Low-intensity Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Maternal Systemic Inflammation during Late Pregnancy. J Obes Weight Loss Ther 7:343. doi:10.4172/2165-7904.1000343

Copyright: © 2017 Tinius RA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Excessive maternal inflammation during pregnancy increases the risk for maternal and neonatal metabolic complications. Fortunately, maternal physical activity during pregnancy appears to reduce maternal inflammation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal physical activity intensity and maternal inflammation during late pregnancy. Maternal physical activity levels (sedentary, light, lifestyle, and moderate), fitness levels, and systemic inflammation (plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration) were measured between 32-37 weeks gestation. Relationships were examined by Spearman Rank Coefficient Correlation analyses. Maternal plasma CRP was negatively associated with time spent in light and lifestyle physical activities (Light: r=-0.40, p=0.01; Lifestyle: r=-0.31, p=0.03), but not with time spent in moderate physical activity (r=-0.18, p=0.21). Higher maternal plasma CRP tended to correlate with more time spent sedentary (r=0.27, p=0.06). In addition, increases in light and lifestyle activities may elicit a clinically meaningful change in inflammation. In conclusion, pregnant women should be encouraged to incorporate more low-intensity physical activities into their daily routines in order to decrease systemic inflammation and potentially improve maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords