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Nine months postpartum weight retention predictors for Brazilian women
Gilberto Kac1, Maria H D A Benicio, Gustavo Velásquez-Meléndez
1Department of Social and Applied Nutrition, Institute of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21941-590, Brazil. gkac@gbl.com.br
Objective:
To identify factors potentially associated with weight retention measured 9 months after childbirth.
Design:
Prospective study with four follow-up waves in time (0.5, 2, 6 and 9 months postpartum).
Setting:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Subjects And Methods:
Two hundred and sixty-six Brazilian women of childbearing age. Analysis was based on hierarchical logistic regression. The dependent variable was weight retention and was defined as the difference between weight at 9 months postpartum and pre-pregnancy weight, with a dichotomised cut-off at 7.5 kg. Covariates included demographic and socio-economic data, obstetric history, anthropometric data, and data on the infant. These data were grouped in blocks and ordered according to their influence on the dependent variable.
Results:
Of the women studied, 19.2% presented weight retention values > or =7.5 kg. According to the logistic regression analysis, the following variables remained associated with weight retention > or =7.5 kg: total family income, difficulty or inability to read a letter, age category > or =30 years, age at first childbirth <23 years, gestational weight gain > or =12 kg, body fat at baseline > or =30% and infant birth weight <3500 g. Infant hospitalisation was only marginally significant.
Conclusions:
Determinant factors identified by the analysis highlight the need for nutritional intervention policies during pregnancy and in the first months postpartum as a way of minimising obesity and the diseases resulting from it.
