# Partnering with WIC to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy

> **NIH NIH R01** · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · 2021 · $679,219

## Abstract

ABSTRACT: Institute of Medicine guidelines for weight gain in pregnancy are clear, but evidence-based
treatment approaches are not widely available. This evidence gap is particularly pressing for medically
vulnerable women - those who are low income and often racial/ethnic minorities. These women have the
highest rates of obesity, but almost no resources to support weight control in pregnancy. Without intervention,
most will exceed Institute of Medicine recommended gains and incur significant morbidity for themselves and
their children. There is preliminary data from our group supporting the efficacy of digital health platforms for
delivering antenatal obesity treatment among the medically vulnerable. However, our inexpensive, easily
scalable approach has not been integrated and tested in real world settings, limiting broad reach and
dissemination potential. Dissemination considerations are especially pressing for socioeconomically
disadvantaged and minority populations because of these groups’ higher obesity risk, greater potential for
experiencing obesity-related comorbidities in pregnancy, and limited finances to afford alternative treatments.
The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Food and Nutrition Program is the leading public health nutrition
program for pregnant women and their children in the US, and thus, it is in a unique position to meaningfully
impact the obesity epidemic among the more than 9 million disadvantaged participants it serves annually. Yet
no demonstrations of effective gestational weight gain interventions exist in WIC. We propose a pragmatic trial
designed to rigorously test our antenatal obesity treatment approach integrated into Philadelphia WIC
community clinics. We have long-standing relationships with WIC staff and prior experience conducting
pragmatic clinical trials in under-resourced settings. We will randomize 438 African American and Hispanic
Philadelphia County WIC participants with obesity in early pregnancy to one of two treatment arms: 1) standard
WIC care; or 2) an antenatal obesity treatment arm, which includes empirically-supported behavior change
goals, regular self-monitoring text messages with automated feedback, tailored skills training materials, and
counseling from WIC nutritionists. Our primary outcome is prevalence of excessive gestational weight gain; we
will additionally examine changes in diet and physical activity, health-related quality of life, and rates of adverse
pregnancy outcomes. We will use the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance)
framework to evaluate the intervention’s dissemination potential and cost effectiveness in the WIC setting. The
proposed project will constitute the first systematic translation of a comprehensive antenatal obesity treatment
program focused on low-income, racial/ethnic minorities, using the strengths of mHealth and WIC provider
counseling for intervention delivery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10180950
- **Project number:** 5R01DK115939-04
- **Recipient organization:** TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Sharon J Herring
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $679,219
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10180950

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10180950, Partnering with WIC to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy (5R01DK115939-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10180950. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*