Free-feeding pregnant women

King, Arthur G.

doi:10.1016/0002-9378(49)90383-x

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This might explain why they display an increase in maternal body weight over and above that required for the growth of the fetus, placenta and other products of conception. Indeed, women from Scandinavia, Western Europe and North America who experience healthy, uncomplicated pregnancies enter motherhood with 2-10 kg of additional fat stores (King et al 1949; see Table 1). Even in the past, when weight gain during pregnancy was restricted (as in the studies reviewed by Chesley, 1944), women were 1.7-2.2 kg Where necessary, standard errors of changes in body weight and body fat were calculated using the mean coefficient of variation for measurements of body weight and body fat before and after pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do the changes in energy balance that occur during pregnancy predispose parous women to obesity?

Harris

Ellison

1997

Nutr. Res. Rev.

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The aim of this review was to re-assess whether the changes in energy balance that accompany pregnancy predispose parous women to obesity. A number of crosssectional studies have sought to answer this question by examining the relationship between parity and maternal body weight. However, these studies were unable to control for the large number of sociobehavioural confounders that might be responsible for the apparent effect of parity on body weight. Longitudinal studies that examine changes in maternal body weight before and after pregnancy avoid these problems by using each mother as her own control. Nevertheless, these studies have to overcome three methodological constraints: They must obtain an accurate measure of prepregnant body weight, they must give each mother sufficient time to lose any weight retained following delivery, and they must take into account the effect of ageing on maternal weight gain during pregnancy and the follow-up period. More than 90% of the studies reviewed found body weight to be greater after pregnancy than it was before (by 0.2-10.6kg). and previous researchers who have examined the evidence for pregnancy-related weight gains suggest that body weight increases by an average of 0 4 4 4 3 k g following pregnancy. However, only three of the 71 longitudinal studies examined in the present review complied with the three methodological criteria. These studies concluded that mothers gain, on average, 0.9-3.3 kg more weight following pregnancy than nonpregnant controls, and that mean body weight remained 0.4-3.0 kg higher, even after controlling for a number of sociobehavioural confounders. This apparently modest increase in mean maternal body weight for women having one or two children conceals the fact that some mothers experience a substantial increase in body weight and become obese following pregnancy. It remains unclear whether these increases are simply the result of changes in energy metabolism during pregnancy and lactation, or whether they are influenced by inherent changes in lifestyle that accompany pregnancy and motherhood. Understanding the relative importance of these alternatives might help to explain the aetiology of maternal obesity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%