The Effect of the More Active MuMs in Stirling Trial on Body Composition and Psychological Well-Being among Postnatal Women

Introduction. physical activity is important for health and well-being; however,rates of postnatal physical activity can be low. this paper reports the secondary outcomes of a trial aimed at increasing physical activity among postnatal women. methods. more active mums in stirling (mammis) was a randomised controlled trial testing the effect of physical activity consultation and pram walking group intervention among inactive postnatal women. data were collected on postnatal weight,body composition,general well-being,and fatigue. participants were also interviewed regarding motivations and perceived benefits of participating in the trial. results. there was no significant effect of the intervention on any weight/body composition outcome or on general well-being at three or six months of follow-up. there was a significant but inconsistent difference in fatigue between groups. qualitative data highlighted a number of perceived benefits to weight,body composition,and particularly well-being (including improved fatigue) which were not borne out by objective data. discussion. the mammis study found no impact of the physical activity intervention on body composition and psychological well-being and indicates that further research is required to identify successful approaches to increase physical activity and improve health and well-being among postnatal women. � 2016 alyssa s. lee et al.