Weight history of overweight pregnant women.

Purpose: Pre-conception weight gain and postpartum weight retention may contribute to women’s increased risk of developing overweight/obesity; however, weight history data that would permit an examination of this hypothesis have been lacking. Our objective was to describe the weight history of pregnant overweight women and their families. Methods: Between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation, 107 overweight pregnant women (21 Aboriginal, including 20 First Nations and oneMetis, and 86 non-Aboriginal) completed a weight history questionnaire. Results: Average adult usual body weight (UBW) corresponded to a bodymass index (BMI) of 29.2 ± 5.5 kg/m2 (overweight). Average pre-pregnancy BMI (33.0 ± 6.6 kg/m2) increased into the obesity category.Over two-thirds of subjects reported an unstable UBW. A large proportion ofmultiparous subjects had retained weight after pregnancy. The average weight retained was 12.7 ± 9.4 kg, and it accounted for almost all of the weight change from UBW. Conclusions: Weight history question...