For mothers who gained too much weight during pregnancy, regularly tracking their mental health using a mobile app in the first six months after giving birth is linked to a small decrease in the...
Mechanism
Synthesis from 1 study
When mothers track their mood and stress daily with a phone app, it helps calm their body’s stress response, which lowers hormones that make fat stick around — even if they don’t eat less or burn more calories, as seen in 10.34172/hpp.42528. This explains why they keep less extra weight after birth...
Most probable mechanism
When mothers log their mood and stress daily using a phone app, it helps their brain better manage stress signals, which lowers excess stress hormones that can cause the body to hold onto fat — even if they don’t eat less or move more, as shown in 10.34172/hpp.42528.
Frequent mental health logging via mobile application modulates hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity by increasing awareness and behavioral regulation of stress cues, reducing chronic cortisol elevation.
Lowered cortisol levels reduce adipose tissue lipogenesis and visceral fat storage by decreasing glucocorticoid receptor signaling in adipocytes, without altering energy intake or expenditure.
Stabilized metabolic set point in adipose tissue reduces the likelihood of retaining ≥5 kg postpartum, independent of changes in weight loss rate or caloric balance.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Community contributions welcome
The impact of self-monitoring physical and mental health via an mHealth application on postpartum weight retention: Data from the INTER-ACT RCT
Contradicting (0)
Community contributions welcome
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
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