Country development and the association between parity and overweight

Abstract

Introduction: Parity is associated with overweight and obesity in developed countries and has been related to maternal depletion in poor developing countries. However, the literature from developing countries is limited and may not represent current stages of development. Methods: We analyzed data from 50 Demographic and Reproductive Health Surveys conducted between 1992 and 2003. We examined the association between parity (proxied by number of live births) and overweight (body mass index (BMI)X25 kg/m 2 ) in relation to level of country wealth and development. Results: The odds ratio (OR) for overweight comparing women with at least four live births to women with one live birth was 41.0 in 38 of the 50 countries studied. The median OR was 41.0 in all regions studied and highest in North Africa/West Asia, where all countries had OR 41.0. Country wealth and development were both positively associated with the ORs. Conclusions: The importance of parity as a predictor of overweight increases with national economic development and wealth. Policy implications might include the development and implementation of programs to prevent excessive gestational weight gain and promote postpartum weight loss via dietary change and physical activity, concomitant with exclusive breastfeeding.

Associations of excess weight gain during pregnancy with long-term maternal overweight and obesity: evidence from 21 y postpartum follow-up

“…This could be due to the limitation of the breastfeeding information we obtained (ie, never breastfeed, ,4 mo, and 4 mo). Parity plays an increasingly important role in the prevalence of being overweight in women (38), and there is an increase in the rate of obesity with each additional child (39), although our study failed to show a relation between parity and BMI. We controlled for the presence of a high-risk pregnancy because hypertension in pregnancy is associated with excessive edema (37), which may cause maternal weight gain in excess of the IOM guidelines.…”

Life-Course Body Mass Index Trajectories Are Predicted by Childhood Socioeconomic Status but Not Exposure to Improved Nutrition during the First 1000 Days after Conception in Guatemalan Adults

“…Better early growth and development lead to increased educational attainment and income (17), and these might be associated with lifestyle risk factors for weight gain, such as sedentarism or ability to acquire energy-dense diets. The early separation of the BMI latent classes suggests that later life influences, such as parity in women (46), might contribute to adult BMI gain but do not contribute to the establishment of BMI classes.…”

Influência do consumo alimentar na gestação sobre a retenção de peso pós-parto

“…8,10,14,16 A study based on data from 50 Demographic Health Surveys conducted in developing countries pointed to the importance of excessive weight gain during gestation and weight retention after delivery as predictors of the increase in overweight prevalence in women of childbearing age, mainly in richer developing countries, such as those of Latin America. 9 The relationship between higher ingestion of calories and the increase in weight gain during gestation has been demonstrated in the literature since the 1990s. 8 Nowadays, studies aim to relate dietary characteristics and patterns during gestation to weight gain in this period and postpartum weight retention.…”