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A prospective study of the effect of childbearing on weight gain in African-American women
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A prospective study of the effect of childbearing on weight gain in African-American women

Lynn Rosenberg, Julie R Palmer, Lauren A Wise, Nicholas J Horton, Shiriki K Kumanyika and Lucile L Adams-Campbell
Obesity research, v 11(12), pp 1526-1535
Dec 2003
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2003.204
PMID: 14694218
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Adult African Americans Cohort Studies Female Humans Linear Models Multivariate Analysis Obesity - etiology Parity Parturition Prospective Studies Surveys and Questionnaires Weight Gain - physiology
To prospectively assess the influence of bearing a first, second, or later child on weight gain among African-American women in the context of other risk factors. Data were obtained in a prospective follow-up study of African-American women from across the U.S. who are participants in the Black Women's Health Study. Postal questionnaires were used to collect baseline data in 1995 and follow-up data in 1997 and 1999. Parous and nulliparous women (11,196) (21 to 39 years old at baseline), of whom 1230 had a singleton birth during follow-up, are the subjects of the present analyses. We assessed change in BMI (kilograms per meter squared) in relation to childbearing during 4 years of follow-up, with use of multivariable linear regression to control for important risk factors. During 4 years of follow-up, the BMI of participants increased by an average of 1.6 kg/m2, equivalent to a weight gain of approximately 4.4 kg. Women who had a child during follow-up gained more weight than women who remained nulliparous, and those who had a first child gained more than those who had a second or later child. The weight gain associated with childbearing increased with increasing baseline BMI and was appreciable among heavier women. For example, among women with a baseline index of 36, the increase in BMI for women who bore a first child was 1.1 kg/m2 more than that of nulliparous women, equivalent to a difference in weight gain of approximately 3.0 kg. Childbearing is an important contributor to weight gain among African-American women.

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67 citations in Web of Science
71 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#5 Gender Equality
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nutrition & Dietetics
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