[Identification of risk factors of obesity in premenopausal women]

Obesity is a chronic disease conditioned by genetic, endocrine and environmental factors. The aim of study was to determine the risk factors affecting the body mass in women.

The questionnaire investigations involved 363 female volunteers aged 18-49. The questionnaire contained items referring to the environmental factors which might affect body mass (e.g. age, increase in body mass after the age of 18, number of child-births, body mass increase after child-birth, use of oral contraceptives, obesity in childhood, obesity in family, smoking and concomitant diseases). Statistica for Windows was used for analysis, with statistically significant differences at p<0.05. Logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis.

Rapid body mass increments occurred in the young women who were overweight already in childhood. Another high risk group was constituted by women who reported considerable body mass increments during the first pregnancy. 39.9% of the examined women took contraceptive pills, however the application of oral contraception had no significant influence on the body mass increase. The body mass gain after the age of 18 was observed to positively correlate with age.

Overweight in childhood or excessive body mass increment during pregnancy are risk factors of obesity in the later period of life.