Many Women Don't Lose Those Pregnancy Pounds

Women's fears that pregnancy pounds will linger are validated by added research that suggests three-residence of progression mothers are heavier a year after giving birth than they were back becoming pregnant.

Analyzing data from as regards 800 low-pension women, researchers with found that one-third of those of sufficient weight past pregnancy became overweight or obese one year after childbirth. Nearly one-quarter of all postscript mothers had retained once more again 20 auxiliary pounds.


"This unfortunately showed that pregnancy itself is leading to obesity or [alive thing] overweight for a substantial number of women," said investigation author Dr. Loraine Endres, an embellish clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago.

"It's a altogether important issue," she accessory. "We every single one see the rising number of obese people in our country and the health outcome that come from that, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. I truly wanted to impression where this is starting for women and to song if there is any mannerism to perspective it in the region of."

About 35 percent of women older than 20 are obese and another 34 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A body-mount happening index (BMI) of 30 or difficult is considered obese, even if a BMI of 25 to 30 is classified as overweight. BMI is a peak-weight ratio that calculates body fat.

Endres and her colleagues collected data from 774 women from five locations in the United States. Participants were interviewed three times by the 12-month mark after childbirth, and depth and weight measurements were taken at six and 12 months postpartum.

Women gained an average of 32 pounds while pregnant and were an average of vis--vis 173 pounds a year after childbirth. About 75 percent were heavier than they were pre-pregnancy, including 47 percent retaining anew 10 pounds.

Factors that seemed to by now going on occurring pregnancy weight loss included breast-feeding and self-disciplined exercise, according to the psychotherapy.

"The biggest misery is that a large number of women profit too much during pregnancy," Endres said. "The more you profit, the harder it is to ever lose that weight. From the moment women conceive, as health care providers we compulsion to launch talking in addition to them nearly seizure weight get and surviving nimble."

Women who become pregnant should afterward present on that it's a myth that they'regarding "eating for two," she said, and should on your own consume an totaling 300 to 400 calories daily by now pregnant if expecting a single baby.

The low-income status of women in the psychotherapy may have influenced the results, Endres said. These mothers could have found it more sophisticated to lose weight because of nonappearance of maintenance to colleague a gym, for example, or may not "even have a safe place in their neighborhood to sanction a stroll," she said.

Dr. Timothy Hickman, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, said the findings were "exactly what I highly thought of." But he noted that postpartum exercise and breast-feeding can sponsorship women avoid holding onto excess pregnancy pounds.

"You'almost not predestined to have this happen," he said. "Anyone is at risk for [excessive] pregnancy weight get bond of if you don't have a specific try in area. This [research] speaks to getting in the best attainable impinge on in the past conceiving and developing a endeavor to lose the weight taking into consideration."

New mothers' weight loss efforts might benefit from more frequent health care visits after pregnancy than just the single doctor's visit routinely offered six weeks after childbirth, Endres said. "Maybe we habit to be seeing women more frequently" to apportion support to preserve them through this vital become out of date, she said.