The pattern of gestational weight gains among Chinese women: a repeated measure analysis

Maternal weight and its association with risk of overweight in offspring: a trajectory analysis from a birth cohort in China

BACKGROUND

Most studies on the association of maternal pregnancy weight with offspring weight trajectory have a short follow-up time. This study aimed to explore the associations of maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) with childhood weight trajectories in a 7-year birth cohort.

METHODS

A total of 946 mother-child pairs (467 boys and 479 girls) from a longitudinal birth cohort in Tianjin City, China, were included in this study, ranging from pregnancy to offspring at 7 years. The outcome variable was defined as overweight or not overweight in offspring at the last round. A group-based trajectory model was applied to identify childhood BMI trajectory groups.

RESULTS

Five discrete BMI trajectory groups were identified and characterized as constant underweight (25.2%), constant normal weight (42.8%), and high or increasing trajectory [at risk of overweight (16.9%), progressive overweight (11.0%) and progressive obesity (4.1%)]. Maternal prepregnancy overweight was associated with 1.72 (95% CI 1.14-2.60, P = 0.01) to 4.02 (95% CI 1.94-8.36, P < 0.001) times the risk of all high or increasing trajectory groups, and excessive GWG was related to groups at risk of overweight [relative risk ratio (RRR) 2.09, 95% CI 1.27-3.46, P = 0.004] and progressive obesity (RRR 3.33, 95% CI 1.13-9.79, P = 0.029). Children in all high or increasing trajectory groups were associated with greater overweight risk at the last round [risk ratios (RRs) ranged from 3.54 (95% CI 2.53-4.95, P < 0.001) to 6.18 (95% CI 4.05-9.42, P < 0.001)].

CONCLUSION

Maternal prepregnancy overweight and excessive gestational weight gain were associated with increasing or high-level childhood body mass index trajectories as well as a greater risk of overweight at 7 years.

Effects of a Comprehensive Dietary Intervention Program, Promoting Nutrition Literacy, Eating Behavior, Dietary Quality, and Gestational Weight Gain in Chinese Urban Women with Normal Body Mass Index during Pregnancy

In urban Chinese women with normal body weight during pregnancy, we implemented a comprehensive dietary intervention program aimed at enhancing nutrition literacy, dietary quality, and gestational weight gain. The methods included both online and offline health education on prenatal nutrition, weekly weight monitoring, family back education practices, and real-time dietary guidance. The intervention was delivered to randomly assigned control and intervention group participants from gestational week 12 to week 24. The intervention group (n = 44; 100% complete data) showed significant differences (mean (SD)) compared to the control group (n = 42; 95.5% complete data) in nutrition literacy (53.39 ± 6.60 vs. 43.55 ± 9.58, p < 0.001), restrained eating (31.61 ± 7.28 vs. 28.79 ± 7.96, p < 0.001), Diet Quality Distance (29.11 ± 8.52 vs. 40.71 ± 7.39, p < 0.001), and weight gain within the first 12 weeks of intervention (4.97 ± 1.33 vs. 5.98 ± 2.78, p = 0.029). However, there was no significant difference in the incidence of gestational diabetes (2 (4.5%) vs. 4 (9.5%), p = 0.629). Participants in the intervention group reported an overall satisfaction score of 4.70 ± 0.46 for the intervention strategy. These results emphasize the positive role of comprehensive dietary intervention in promoting a healthy diet during pregnancy.

Comparison of the 2009 Institute of Medicine and 2021 Chinese guidelines for gestational weight gain: A retrospective population-based cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the associations between gestational weight gain (GWG) and perinatal outcomes based on the GWG guidelines of the Chinese Nutrition Society (CNS) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

METHODS

This was a retrospective study with 9075 low-risk singleton pregnant women. Logistic regression model was used to analyze associations between GWG categories and perinatal outcomes. Sensitivity analyses were performed based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters).

RESULTS

Excessive GWG as defined by the two guidelines was associated with a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Inadequate GWG was associated with higher risks of small for gestational age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.64) and preterm birth (aOR 1.70, 95% CI 1.22-2.36), but a lower risk of large for gestational age (LGA) (aOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63-0.95) according to the IOM guidelines. When using the CNS guidelines, inadequate GWG was associated with only a lower risk of preterm birth (aOR 1.80, 95% CI 1.19-2.70). Sensitivity analyses suggested that excessive GWG was associated with a higher risk of LGA in underweight women.

CONCLUSIONS

Both guidelines could demonstrate the relationship between GWG and adverse perinatal outcomes. The CNS guidelines were more suitable for the Chinese population with underweight or normal weight before pregnancy, whereas IOM was more suitable for pregnant women with inadequate GWG.

Excessive gestational weight gain in the first and second trimester is a risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus among women pregnant with singletons: A repeated measures analysis

AIMS/INTRODUCTION

To evaluate gestational weight gain (GWG) in the first and second trimester as a risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) among women pregnant with singletons.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a cohort study of women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 1 January 2013 and 31 October 2014 in a Chinese hospital. We collected data from medical records from the first antenatal visit to delivery. All pregnant women were subjected to an oral glucose tolerance test for diagnosis of GDM during the second trimester. GWG in the first and second trimester was calculated by subtracting the prepregnancy weight from weight within 4 weeks of the oral glucose tolerance test. We categorized GWG into insufficient, appropriate and excessive according to the Institute of Medicine guidelines and population quantiles. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to determine the association between GWG and GDM risk.

RESULTS

Of 10,422 pregnant women, we identified 8,356 eligible women with 1,622 (19.4%) diagnosed with GDM. Univariable analysis showed that GWG that exceeded the Institute of Medicine recommendation might be associated with risk of GDM (P < 0.05), but this association was not observed by multivariable analysis (adjusted odds ratio 1.07, [95% confidence interval 0.94-1.21]). Univariable and multivariable analyses both showed that GWG exceeding the 90th and 95th quantiles of included women, respectively, were at increased risk for GDM (adjusted odds ratio >P90 vs P10 -P90 adjusted odds ratio 1.31, [95% confidence interval 1.12-1.52]; >P95 vs P5 -P95 adjusted odds ratio 1.45 [95% confidence interval 1.16-1.81]).

CONCLUSIONS

Excessive GWG in the first and second trimester might be a risk factor for GDM, which highlights the importance of appropriate weight gain during pregnancy.

Associations of Body Mass Index with Demographics, Lifestyle, Food Intake, and Mental Health among Postpartum Women: A Structural Equation Approach

As postpartum obesity is becoming a global public health challenge, there is a need to apply postpartum obesity modeling to determine the indicators of postpartum obesity using an appropriate statistical technique. This research comprised two phases, namely: (i) development of a previously created postpartum obesity modeling; (ii) construction of a statistical comparison model and introduction of a better estimator for the research framework. The research model displayed the associations and interactions between the variables that were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method to determine the body mass index (BMI) levels related to postpartum obesity. The most significant correlations obtained were between BMI and other substantial variables in the SEM analysis. The research framework included two categories of data related to postpartum women: living in urban and rural areas in Iran. The SEM output with the Bayesian estimator was 81.1%, with variations in the postpartum women's BMI, which is related to their demographics, lifestyle, food intake, and mental health. Meanwhile, the variation based on SEM with partial least squares estimator was equal to 70.2%, and SEM with a maximum likelihood estimator was equal to 76.8%. On the other hand, the output of the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MPE) for the Bayesian estimator is lower than the maximum likelihood and partial least square estimators. Thus, the predicted values of the SEM with Bayesian estimator are closer to the observed value compared to maximum likelihood and partial least square. In conclusion, the higher values of R-square and lower values of MPE, RMSE, and MSE will produce better goodness of fit for SEM with Bayesian estimators.

Application of Japanese guidelines for gestational weight gain to multiple pregnancy outcomes and its optimal range in 101,336 Japanese women

This study was performed to investigate whether the Japanese guidelines for gestational weight gain (GWG) can be used to determine the risks of multiple pregnancy outcomes and estimate optimal GWG in 101,336 women with singleton pregnancies in 2013. Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that the risks associated with low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth increased significantly with weight gain below the Japanese guidelines, and the risks of macrosomia and large for gestational age increased with weight gain above the guidelines regardless of Asian-specific pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). The GWG cutoff points estimated from the adjusted area under the receiver operating characteristics curve >0.6 corresponded to 10–13.8 kg in underweight women with pre-pregnancy BMI < 18.5 kg/m²; 10–13.7 kg in normal weight women with pre-pregnancy BMI 18.5–22.9 kg/m²; 8.5–11.4 kg in overweight women with pre-pregnancy BMI 23–24.9 kg/m², 5–13.3 kg in obese women with pre-pregnancy BMI 25–29.9 kg/m²; and 4.7 kg in obese women with pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 30 kg/m². The optimal GWG ranges proposed by the present study are slightly higher than those recommended by the current Japanese guidelines.