Environmental and individual factors associated with gestational weight gain

Environmental factors have an impact on inappropriate food choices and sedentary lifestyle, and both individually and in combination these factors favour improper gestational weight gain (GWG) and consequent maternal and neonatal health problems. The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental and individual factors associated with GWG.

Data were from "Born in Belo Horizonte: Survey on childbirth and birth", a hospital-based retrospective cohort of 506 pregnant women with deliveries in public and private maternity hospitals in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews from November 2011 to March 2013. The outcome variable of this study was the GWG categorized based on the Institute of Medicine Guidelines. Explanatory environmental variables included the availability and access to food environment and places available for physical activity in the neighborhood. Explanatory individual variables included socioeconomic and demographic, obstetric and childbirth variables. Generalized estimating equations examined the association of environmental and individual factors with insufficient or excessive GWG.

The final sample consisted of 506 mothers. There was 36.4% pregnant women showing excessive GWG and 22.7% showing GWG below the recommended interval. Regarding excessive GWG, there was a positive association with the number of mixed food purchasing establishments close to the place of residence, pre-pregnancy body mass index in the categories of overweight and obesity, arterial hypertension and the private sector as the predominant place for prenatal consultations.

GWG outside of the recommended interval was associated with individual and environmental factors, and most pregnant women had insufficient or excessive gestational weight gain. Such results can complement previously published evidence, important for creating more effective strategies for the prevention of excessive and inadequate GWG and the consequent problems related to it during pregnancy.