Parity‐Associated Body Weight: Modification by Sociodemographic and Behavioral Factors

Wolfe, Wendy S.; Sobal, Jeffery; Olson, Christine M.; Frongillo, Edward A.

doi:10.1002/j.1550-8528.1997.tb00653.x

Cited by 48 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Moreover, US women at greatest risk of weight gain are those with an education below college level, newly weds and those with a very low family income 37 , while marital status did not have significant effects on obesity among younger women 38 . On the other hand, the amount of weight gain associated with parity was greater in married than unmarried women, and less in those who were active outside of recreation versus those who were less active 39 . All these observations are in good agreement with the results obtained in this EU study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Variables independently associated with self-reported obesity in the European Union

Martínéz

Kearney

Kafatos

et al. 1999

Public Health Nutr.

147

103

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Objective: The rapid increase in obesity rates over recent years suggest that cultural and societal influences are affecting the adjustment in the energy balance equation in addition to other physiopathological or genetic determinants. Therefore, a pan-EU study was carried out to explore the influence of sociodemographic factors as well as some attitudes (smoking and exercise) on the prevalence of obesity in the adult population of all 15 member states of the EU. Design: Overall, a sample of 15 239 individuals aged 15 years and upwards in the EU completed the questionnaire. Subject selection was quota-controlled to make the sample nationally representative following a multistage stratified cluster sampling. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Results: From the EU average results, it can be seen that only about half of the EU population (48%) is within the normal weight range, while the obesity (BMI у30 kg m −2 ) prevalence was about 10% in the EU and the overweight prevalence was 36.6% and 25.6% among men and women, respectively. UK subjects had the highest prevalence of obesity (12%), while Italians, French and Swedes had the lowest levels of obesity (about 7%). Concerning age and social class interactions, logistic regression analysis showed that high social class and younger individuals in all groups had a lower odds ratio for obesity prevalence. People with a higher level of education are less likely to be obese, while the interaction between educational levels and obesity was different for men and women. A low participation in various leisure-time physical activities, the lack of interest (precontemplation) in being involved in exercise/physical activity and the increasing number of hours sitting down at work appear to be predictors of obesity. Single individuals were less prone to become obese than couples or widowed/divorced people. Finally, smoking status was statistically linked to the prevalence of obesity, since non-smokers or ex-smokers for more than 1 year presented a higher tendency for a BMI Ͼ30. Conclusions: This survey confirms that a priority area for health intervention aimed at preventing the development of obesity should be to increase levels of physical activity, although the approach will depend on the population, especially with respect to educational and socioeconomic aspects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Variables independently associated with self-reported obesity in the European Union

Martínéz

Kearney

Kafatos

et al. 1999

Public Health Nutr.

147

103

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“…Reproductive factors are a plausible explanation for this gender difference in the association between short stature and obesity. Parity has been positively associated with weight gain and with the onset of obesity in population-based studies in developed countries (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16), and also in Brazil, as shown by a previous analysis of the III Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS-96) (17). Events during the fetal and early postnatal growth period by causing permanent metabolic alterations through adult life may facilitate maternal fat deposition during pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Combined effect of short stature and socioeconomic status on body mass index and weight gain during reproductive age in Brazilian women

Sichieri

Silva

Moura

2003

Braz J Med Biol Res

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Short stature, a marker for undernutrition early in life, has been associated with obesity in Brazilian women, but not in men. We tested the hypothesis that weight gain during the reproductive years could explain this gender difference. A national two-stage household survey of mothers with one or more children under five years of age was conducted in Brazil in 1996. The subjects were women aged 20 to 45 years (N = 2297), with last delivery seven months or more prior to the interview. The regions of the country were divided into rural, North/ Northeast (urban underdeveloped) and South/Southeast/Midwest (urban developed). The dependent variables were current body mass index (BMI) measured, BMI prior to childbearing (reported), and BMI change. Socioeconomic variables included mother's years of education and family purchasing power score. A secondary analysis was restricted to primiparous women. The prevalence of current overweight and overweight prior to childbearing (BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 ) was higher among shorter women (<1.50 m) compared to normal stature women only in the urban developed region (P < 0.05). After adjustment for socioeconomic variables, age, parity, BMI prior to childbearing, and age at first birth, current BMI was 2.39 units higher (P = 0.008) for short stature women living in the urban developed area compared with short stature women living in the urban underdeveloped area. For both multiparous and primiparous women, BMI gain compared to the value prior to childbearing was significantly higher among short stature women living in the urban developed region (P ≤ 0.04). These results provide clear evidence that short stature was associated with a higher BMI and with an increased risk of weight gain/retention with pregnancy in the developed areas of Brazil, but not in the underdeveloped ones.

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“…(Weight changes of nonpregnant women are further discussed in the NP=NL section.) Pregnancy-related weight gain may be modified by sociodemographic and behavioural factors such as race, employment status, cigarette smoking and recreational exercise (Wolfe et al, 1997). It is likely that genetic factors may play an important role in pregnancy-related weight gain for some women, although little is known about genetic susceptibility to the development of obesity specifically during the reproductive period.…”

Section: Change In Mns During Pregnancy In Affluent Societiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, cross-sectional studies of age=parity and women's weight have most commonly found positive associations (Brown et al, 1992;Farahati et al, 1993;Rush et al, 1996;. Still, these associations are modified by sociodemographic and behavioural factors: the amount of weight associated with parity is higher for black women than white women, higher for nonsmokers than smokers, and higher in those with low levels of recreational exercise (Wolfe et al, 1997). Some investigators have reported parity to be associated with centralization of body fat distribution, independent of relative weight per se (Björkelund et al, 1996).…”

Section: Age and Paritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between reproduction and maternal body weight: examining the component parts of a full reproductive cycle

2003

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Objective: Many transitional societies currently face both extremes of nutritional status, undernutrition and overnutrition. Women of reproductive age are at high risk of these conditions. The purpose of this review is to consider evidence for relationships between reproduction and nutritional status in women from societies of varying economic development, using body weight or weight-for-height as indicators of maternal nutritional status. Design: The conceptual framework guiding this review is that the duration of the reproductive cycle varies as a function of its component parts, which include (i) pregnancy, (ii) lactation, (iii) the non-pregnant=non-lactating (NP=NL) interval or, possibly, (iv) an overlap between lactation and next pregnancy. All component parts of the complete cycle vary in length and are associated with changes in nutritional status. A variety of factors ('proximal and distal determinants') influence the duration of the component parts of the reproductive cycle. This framework is used to examine current knowledge of changes in maternal nutritional status during each of these parts. Results: Women in affluent societies retain some weight with each pregnancy, beyond that of non-pregnant women. Women in less affluent societies retain less weight with each pregnancy. During lactation, women in both affluent and less affluent societies experience only modest weight loss. During the NP=NL interval, women in affluent societies tend to gain weight, whereas weight of women in less affluent societies is likely to fluctuate. Conclusions: We conclude that there is a dearth of information on certain parts of the cycle, particularly the periods of overlap of lactation with pregnancy and the NP=NL interval.

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Parity‐Associated Body Weight: Modification by Sociodemographic and Behavioral Factors

Cited by 48 publications

References 25 publications

Variables independently associated with self-reported obesity in the European Union

Variables independently associated with self-reported obesity in the European Union

Combined effect of short stature and socioeconomic status on body mass index and weight gain during reproductive age in Brazilian women

Associations between reproduction and maternal body weight: examining the component parts of a full reproductive cycle

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