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. 2014 May;38(5):714-8.
doi: 10.1038/ijo.2013.156. Epub 2013 Aug 20.

Excessive gestational weight gain over multiple pregnancies and the prevalence of obesity at age 40

A K Cohen  1 , B W Chaffee  1 , D H Rehkopf  2 , J R Coyle  3 , B Abrams  4
Affiliations

Excessive gestational weight gain over multiple pregnancies and the prevalence of obesity at age 40

A K Cohen et al. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014 May.

Abstract

Objective: Although several studies have found an association between excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and obesity later in life, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have explored the role of GWG events across the life course.

Design and methods: We describe how the prevalence of midlife obesity (BMI⩾30 at age 40 or 41) among women varies by life course patterns of GWG (using 2009 IOM guidelines) in the USA's National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort.

Results: Among women who reported 1-3 births before age 40, the prevalence of midlife obesity increased with a rising number of excessive GWG events: from none (23.4%, n=875) to one (37.6%, n=707), from none (23.4%, n=875) to two (46.8%, n=427) and from none (23.4%, n=875) to three (54.6%, n=108), P<0.00005 for trend. Obesity prevalence was similar for the same number of excessive GWG events, regardless of parity. No clear pattern emerged for the sequencing of excessive GWG event(s) and later obesity.

Conclusions: In our descriptive exploratory study, excessive GWG events appear to be associated with increased prevalence of obesity for parous women, suggesting the importance of preventive interventions regardless of timing of pregnancy-related weight changes over the life course.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant eligibility for analytic sample.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Midlife obesity by gestational weight gain patterns over the first three births among NLSY79 mothers.2 2 In order to identify the prevalence of obesity for a combination of GWG categories and number of births, follow from the top of the figure down rows depending on the number of births of interest. For example, following from the upper left block of “Inadequate” to the far left block below “Inadequate” to the next far left block “Inadequate”, the figure shows that among women with 3 births, all 3 with inadequate GWG, 14.9% of women (7/47) are obese at age 40.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The prevalence of obesity for each number of births, by number of excessive GWG events.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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