Environmental and individual factors associated with gestational weight gain

Abstract

Background Environmental factors have an impact on inappropriate food choices and sedentary lifestyle, and both individually and in combination these factors favour improper gestational weight gain (GWG) and consequent maternal and neonatal health problems. The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental and individual factors associated with GWG. Methods Data were from “Born in Belo Horizonte: Survey on childbirth and birth”, a hospital-based retrospective cohort of 506 pregnant women with deliveries in public and private maternity hospitals in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews from November 2011 to March 2013. The outcome variable of this study was the GWG categorized based on the Institute of Medicine Guidelines. Explanatory environmental variables included the availability and access to food environment and places available for physical activity in the neighborhood. Explanatory individual variables included socioeconomic and demographic, obstetric and childbirth variables. Generalized estimating equations examined the association of environmental and individual factors with insufficient or excessive GWG. Results The final sample consisted of 506 mothers. There was 36.4% pregnant women showing excessive GWG and 22.7% showing GWG below the recommended interval. Regarding excessive GWG, there was a positive association with the number of mixed food purchasing establishments close to the place of residence, pre-pregnancy body mass index in the categories of overweight and obesity, arterial hypertension and the private sector as the predominant place for prenatal consultations. Conclusion GWG outside of the recommended interval was associated with individual and environmental factors, and most pregnant women had insufficient or excessive gestational weight gain. Such results can complement previously published evidence, important for creating more effective strategies for the prevention of excessive and inadequate GWG and the consequent problems related to it during pregnancy.

Prevalence and related factors of inappropriate gestational weight gain among pregnant women with overweight/ obesity in Thailand

“…Sufficient income and easy access to low-fat food enabled women to purchase nutritious food and practice a healthy diet for weight control. Previous evidence also showed that access to healthy food [ 8 , 50 ] and sufficient income [ 11 ] are facilitators of adequate GWG. However, easy access to healthy food as low-fat food was also significantly associated with excessive GWG.…”

Gestational weight gain among pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria: Pattern, predictors and pregnancy outcomes

“…Conversely, low and middle-income countries have reported a higher prevalence of inadequate GWG than excessive [13,15,16,[47][48][49]. Excessive GWG is an emerging maternal health issue in transiting economies with increased adverse perinatal outcomes such as macrosomia, increased operative delivery, postpartum weight retention, and maternal obesity in the subsequent pregnancies and future risk of non-communicable diseases [7,10,24,25,[50][51][52].…”

Barriers to implementing good nutrition in pregnancy and early childhood: Creating equitable national solutions

“…A medical records review revealed that individuals living in food deserts were more likely to have at least one morbidity during pregnancy versus those who did not (adjusted OR 1.64; 95% CI [1.18, 2.29]) 72 . A study conducted in Brazil revealed excessive gestational weight gain was associated with the number of food‐purchasing establishments near an individual's place of residence, 73 and another study found that gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was less likely for women living in areas with better access to healthier foods. Furthermore, these women were less likely to require medication to control GDM or to deliver an infant with macrosomia 74 .…”