5. Conclusions
CVD
Six months following HDP, most women were not meeting recommended daily fruit and vegetable serves, and almost half were not doing the recommended amount of weekly physical activity. As expected, associations between healthy lifestyle behaviours and better weight outcomes were significant, with the converse also found to be true. As the link between HDP and future cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality is well established, it is critical that these lifestyle behaviours are optimised to minimise future CVD risk and subsequent HDP. These findings may inform the development of lifestyle interventions and management plans for women postpartum, through identification of areas with significant effects on weight and those in need of greatest improvement. Standardised lifestyle interventions following HDP will be of vital public health importance in developing effective risk minimisation strategies for this higher-risk population; however, these are yet to be formally evaluated in both the short- and long-term.