scholarly journals Obesity in pregnant women: a 20-year analysis of the German experience

Author(s):  
Alexander Strauss ◽  
Niels Rochow ◽  
Mirjam Kunze ◽  
Volker Hesse ◽  
Joachim W. Dudenhausen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/objective To investigate the longitudinal development of maternal body weight and analyze the influence of obesity on obstetrics during more than two decades in Germany. Subjects/methods Data collected from the Federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (German Perinatal Survey) were analyzed with regard to the dynamics of maternal anthropometric variables (body weight, BMI) between 1995–7 and 2004–17. In total 335,511 mothers substantiated the presented study-collective. The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 26.0. Armonk, NY. Results Maternal BMI advanced significantly over the study period. Among a rise in mean periconceptional body weight (67.6–72.0 kg), the segment of obese women increased disproportionately (in average 9.4–19.2%). Despite the observed trend to late giving birth (mean maternal age 1995: 29.3 vs. 30.7 years in 2017), it was not advanced maternal age but parity that influenced the continuous increase in maternal weight (mean maternal body weight 1995–7: primi- bi-, multiparae 67.4, 68.3 and 69.0 kg vs. 2004–17: primi- bi-, multiparae 70.0, 71.5 and 73.2 kg respectively). Conclusion Obesity is a major problem on health issues in obstetrics. Advancing maternal BMI, increasing mother’s age and derived prenatal risks considerably complicate pregnancy and delivery. It has to be emphasized that its consequences do not end with delivery or childbed, but represent a livelong burden to the mother and their offspring. Hence, multimodal strategies to reduce/control periconceptional body weight are mandatory.

Author(s):  
C T Whittemore

Provision of nutrient allowances for sows necessitates a view of requirements for growth and reproductive efficacy, and a method to predict response to the nutrients provided. An experiment involving 102 Large White x Landrace sows given a diet of 13.2MJ DE and 162g CP per kg over 4 parities has been used to derive some of the necessary model components. If live weight and fatness at first conception are 125kg and 14mm P2 respectively, and maternal body weight at term parity 4 is 250kg, and when weaning to oestrus interval (days) = 27(±5) - 1.3(±0.4)P2(mm) at weaning: then the equations, change in P2(mm) in 28-day lactation = -0.28(±0.82) - 0.27(±0.03)P2 at parturition +0.037(±0.003) lactation feed intake - 0.50(±0.06) number of piglets at weaning, and change in maternal live weight (kg) in 28-day lactation = -3.8(±4.6) - 0.15(±0.02) maternal weight at parturition + 0.36 (±0.02) lactation feed intake - 3.3(±0.3) number of piglets at weaning, can be used to predict fat and live weight changes in lactation.


Author(s):  
Noemí Rodríguez-Mesa ◽  
Paula Robles-Benayas ◽  
Yolanda Rodríguez-López ◽  
Eva María Pérez-Fernández ◽  
Ana Isabel Cobo-Cuenca

Aims: To assess the influence of obesity on pregnancy and delivery in pregnant nulliparous women. Methods: A cohort, longitudinal, retrospective study was conducted in Spain with 710 women, of which 109 were obese (BMI > 30) and 601 were normoweight (BMI < 25). Consecutive nonrandom sampling. Variables: maternal age, BMI, gestational age, fetal position, start of labor, dilation and expulsion times, type of delivery and newborn weight and height. Results: The dilation time in obese women (309.81 ± 150.42 min) was longer than that in normoweight women (281.18 ± 136.90 min) (p = 0.05, Student’s t-test). A higher fetal weight was more likely to lead to longer dilation time (OR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.010–0.075, p < 0.001) and expulsion time (OR = 0.027, 95% CI 0.015–0.039, p < 0.001). A higher maternal age was more likely to lead to a longer expulsion time (OR = 2.054, 95% CI 1.17–2.99, p < 0.001). Obese women were more likely to have gestational diabetes [relative risk (RR) = 3.612, 95% CI 2.102–6.207, p < 0.001], preeclampsia (RR = 5.514, 95% CI 1.128–26.96, p = 0.05), induced birth (RR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.06–1.50, p = 0.017) and cesarean section (RR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.11–4.20, p = 0.022) than normoweight women. Conclusion: Obesity is associated with increased complications during pregnancy, an increased incidence of a cesarean section and induced birth but it has no significant effect on the delivery time.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Hjertberg ◽  
Eva Uustal ◽  
Sofia Pihl ◽  
Marie Blomberg

Introduction. To evaluate if there was a difference in the anovaginal distance (AVD) measured by transperineal ultrasound between obese and normal weight women. Material and Methods. A prospective observational study including 207 primiparous women at term in first stage of labor. Transperineal ultrasound with a vaginal probe was used to measure the AVD. Maternal, pregnancy, and delivery characteristics potentially associated with perineal thickness were extracted from woman’s medical records. The participants were divided into three BMI groups based on maternal weight in early pregnancy: normal weight (BMI < 25), overweight (BMI 25–29.9), and obesity (BMI ≥ 30). Obese and overweight women were compared with normal weight women regarding the AVD. Results. The mean AVD was 24.3, 24.9, and 27.0 mm in the normal weight, overweight, and obesity group, respectively. There were no group differences in background characteristics. The AVD was significantly longer in obese women compared with normal weight women (p=0.018). Conclusions. The observed longer AVD in obese women might be protective of the anal sphincter complex, explaining lower rates of anal sphincter injuries in this group. Further studies are indicated to evaluate whether the length of the AVD plays a role in the risk assessment of obstetric anal sphincter injury. The trial is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and the trial registration ID is NCT03149965.


1997 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Harris ◽  
G. T. H. Ellison

AbstractThe 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 cross-sectional 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 regnancy 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 04–4.8kg 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, 0.9–3.3kg more weight following pregnancy than nonpregnant controls, and that mean body weight remained 0.4–3.0kg 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.“Clover was a stout motherly mare approaching middle life, who had never quite got her figure back after her fourth foal”George Well (1945) Animal Farm. London: Secker and Warburg.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Morin ◽  
Catherine Bégin ◽  
Julie Maltais-Giguère ◽  
Alexandra Bédard ◽  
André Tchernof ◽  
...  

Weight loss has been associated with changes in eating behaviors and appetite sensations that favor a regain in body weight. Since traditional weight loss approaches emphasize the importance of increasing cognitive dietary restraint (CDR) to achieve negative energy imbalance, it is difficult to untangle the respective contributions of energy restriction and increases in CDR on factors that can eventually lead to body weight regain. The present study aimed at comparing the effects of energy restriction alone or in combination with experimentally induced CDR on eating behavior traits, appetite sensations, and markers of stress in overweight and obese women. We hypothesized that the combination of energy restriction and induced CDR would lead to more prevalent food cravings, increased appetite sensations, and higher cortisol concentrations than when energy restriction is not coupled with induced CDR. A total of 60 premenopausal women (mean BMI: 32.0 kg/m2; mean age: 39.4 y) were provided with a low energy density diet corresponding to 85% of their energy needs during a 4-week fully controlled period. At the same time, women were randomized to either a condition inducing an increase in CDR (CDR+ group) or a condition in which CDR was not induced (CRD− group). Eating behavior traits (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and Food Craving Questionnaire), appetite sensations (after standardized breakfast), and markers of stress (Perceived Stress Scale; postawakening salivary cortisol) were measured before (T = 0 week) and after (T = 4 weeks) the 4-week energy restriction, as well as 3 months later. There was an increase in CDR in the CDR+ group while no such change was observed in the CDR− group (p=0.0037). No between-group differences were observed for disinhibition, hunger, cravings, appetite sensations, perceived stress, and cortisol concentrations. These results suggest that a slight increase in CDR has no negative impact on factors regulating energy balance in the context of energy restriction.


Circulation ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 125 (suppl_10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacy T Sims ◽  
Sandra Tsai ◽  
Marcia L Stefanick

Background: Barriers to physical activity for obese women include overheating, sweating, fatigue, exhaustion, and rapid heart rate. Adipose tissue acts as a thermal insulator, promoting a greater heat load on the nonfat tissues, reducing heat tolerance; exercise causes a rise in body temperature with an inability to dissipate heat contributing to reduced exercise tolerance. With difficulties of thermoregulation in the sedentary obese population, the aspect of attenuating the discomfort thus associated may encourage continuation of exercise. A heat sink applied to palmar surfaces extracts heat and cools the venous blood, reducing thermal strain by enhancing the volume of cooled venous return. We hypothesized that palmar cooling using a rapid thermal exchange device (RTX) during exercise would attenuate the thermal discomfort of exercise of sedentary obese women, improving exercise tolerance. Methods: To examine whether palmar cooling would impact exercise tolerance in obese women, 24 healthy women aged 30–45 years, with no history of long term structured exercise, a body mass of 120–135% above ideal and/or BMI between 30 and 34.9 were recruited. Women were randomized into a cooling (RXT with 16°C water circulating) or a control (RTX with 37°C water circulating) group and attended 3 exercise sessions a week for 3-months (12 weeks). Each session was comprised of 10 min body weight exercises, 25–45 min treadmill walking at 70–85% HRR with the RTX device, and 10 min of core strengthening exercises. The performance marker was a 1.5 mi walk for time; conducted on the first and last days of the intervention. Mixed models were used to model each of the outcomes as a function of thermal strain, time and treatment with covariates of speed, heart rate, distance, and the interaction of the main effects included in the model. Results: Groups were matched at baseline for key variables (time for 1.5 mile walk test, resting and exercising heart rate [HR], blood pressure [BP], waist circumference [WC], body weight, body mass index [BMI]). Among the cooling group, time to complete the 1.5mile walk test was significantly faster (31.6 ± 2.3 vs. 24.6 ± 2.5 min, pre vs. post, P< 0.01). A greater average exercising HR was observed (136 vs. 154 bpm, pre vs. post, P <0.001), with a significant reduction in WC (41.8 ± 3.1 vs. 39.1 ± 2.2 inches, pre vs. post, P< 0.01) and resting BP (139/84 ± 124/70 mmHg, pre vs. post, P < 0.025). There were no significant differences observed in the control group. Conclusion: Results indicate that exercise tolerance in obese women improved with cooling during exercise, more so than those women who did not have cooling. An improvement in blood pressure, heart rate, waist circumference, and overall aerobic fitness was observed. These findings suggest that by reducing thermal discomfort during exercise, tolerance increases, thus improving cardiovascular parameters of obese women.


1985 ◽  
Vol 57 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1147-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack F. Schumaker ◽  
Richard C. Krejci ◽  
Linwood Small ◽  
Roger G. Sargent

The present study assessed the relationship between obesity and reported loneliness. The subjects, 68 obese and 64 nonobese individuals, were administered the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Obese subjects had significantly higher loneliness ratings than nonobese subjects. Obese women had significantly higher loneliness scores than nonobese women but no such difference was found between obese men and their thin peers. A significant correlation of .25 was obtained between body weight and loneliness ratings within the total sample and also the obese women ( r = .29). This correlation was nonsignificant within the obese men. Possible explanations for the observed sex differences as well as implications for research and treatment, were discussed.


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