Does Excess Pregnancy Weight Gain Constitute a Major Risk for Increasing Long‐term BMI?

May 15, 2007Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)

Is gaining too much weight during pregnancy a major risk for higher long-term body weight?

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Abstract

Women who gained excessive weight during pregnancy had a 10.0 kg increase in weight at 15 years postpartum compared to those who gained within recommendations.

Weight gain at 15-year follow-up was significantly different based on gestational weight gain recommendations.
Women with excessive weight gain during pregnancy had a 0.72 kg/m² higher BMI at 15 years postpartum than those who followed recommended guidelines.
The study indicates that adhering to IOM recommendations may help prevent long-term weight retention after childbirth.
Results suggest a relationship between gestational weight gain and long-term BMI, even after considering confounding factors.

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OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the relevance of the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), regarding gestational weight gain (GWG) for long-term BMI development.

RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The Stockholm Pregnancy and Women's Nutrition is a follow-up study of 483 women who delivered children in 1984 to 1985. ANOVA was used to examine the change in body weight before pregnancy, at 6 months, and 1 year postpartum and 15 years after childbirth. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the predictors of BMI at 15-year follow-up.

RESULTS: The weight increase from baseline to 15-year follow-up was 6.2 kg for IOM-insufficient, 6.7 kg for IOM-recommended, and 10.0 kg for IOM-excessive weight gain (p < 0.01). ANOVA showed a main effect of time, group and group by time interaction. The weight of the women who had excessive GWG was significantly greater at each time-point of follow-up than the weight of those who gained within or below recommendations. GWG was related to BMI at 15-year follow-up even after accounting for several confounders. Women who gained excessive weight during pregnancy had an increase of 0.72 kg/m(2) in long-term BMI compared with women who gained within recommendations.

DISCUSSION: The findings support the adequateness of IOM guidelines, not only for the pregnancy-related health matters, but also for preventing long-term weight retention after delivery. Healthcare providers should give women appropriate advice for controlling GWG and motivate them to lose pregnancy-related weight during postpartum to prevent future overweight.

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Does Excess Pregnancy Weight Gain Constitute a Major Risk for Increasing Long‐term BMI?

Abstract

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