# Healthy for 2/Healthy for U: A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial to Limit Gestational Weight Gain and Prevent Obesity in the Prenatal Care Setting

> **NIH NIH R18** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $712,959

## Abstract

Obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise, and racial and gender disparities persist. 23% of
women gain ≥ 20 kg through young adulthood, which is associated with development of
diabetes and greater mortality. Because many women experience pregnancy, excessive
gestational weight gain (GWG) and post-partum weight retention (PPWR) are potentially
modifiable contributors to future obesity and diabetes in both women and their children. The aim
of this R-18 Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is to test the effectiveness of
Healthy for Two / Healthy for You (H42/H4U), an innovative evidence-based
pregnancy/postpartum health coaching intervention that is remotely-delivered (phone coaching
+ web-based platform + mobile phone behavioral tracking), aimed at promoting healthy GWG
and postpartum weight loss. We will embed H42/H4U into prenatal care clinics that serve a
racially and economically diverse population, leverage existing staff as trained health coaches
and community health workers, and test its effectiveness and implementation in a pragmatic
RCT. We aim to 1) Compare the effectiveness of the H42/H4U remotely-delivered health
coaching intervention integrated into prenatal care compared with Usual Care among 380
pregnant and postpartum women enrolled from 6 prenatal clinics and; 2) Assess organizational
factors that impact the implementation of the intervention into prenatal care clinics, including
costs of intervention delivery and provider and staff satisfaction to inform future dissemination.
The primary outcome will be GWG. Maternal and infant secondary outcomes include excess
GWG, GDM incidence, PPWR, infant birth weight and at 4 and 6 months, maternal health
behaviors (diet, physical activity, breastfeeding) and maternal wellness (depression, sleep,
stress). This study will advance a potentially powerful, prenatal care-based strategy to reduce
obesity in childbearing women and thereby the intergenerational effects on their children. Our
team brings together academic and community-based obstetricians, a population health
program, and researchers with experience in developing, testing and implementing behavioral
interventions in both pregnant and non-pregnant adults in real world settings to enable wide
dissemination. Ultimately, we aim to reduce obesity, diabetes and other obesity-related
complications in mothers and their children, and ensure high quality care delivery that prevents
obesity and diabetes through a population health approach to prenatal care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10359707
- **Project number:** 5R18DK122416-03
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Wendy Lynet Bennett
- **Activity code:** R18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $712,959
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-10 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10359707

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10359707, Healthy for 2/Healthy for U: A Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial to Limit Gestational Weight Gain and Prevent Obesity in the Prenatal Care Setting (5R18DK122416-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10359707. Licensed CC0.

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