Prevalence and risk factors for obesity in a Nigerian obstetric population

Abstract

Background: An obese pregnant woman is at increased risk of pregnancy complications with resultant adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study was undertaken to ascertain the magnitude of this nutritional disorder and its predictive factors among an obstetric population in Nigeria. Materials and methods: A descriptive study of pregnant women who registered for antenatal care within the first trimester in a private University Teaching Hospital over a 7-month period. They were interviewed to document the requisite data, their weights and heights were also taken. Body mass index obesity and obesity were classified based on the WHO criteria. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 for windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results: The mean weight and height of the women were 71.2 ± 14.9 Kg and 1.59 ± 0.06 meters respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 33.1%. Thirty two women (60.4%) had mild obesity, 16 (30.2%) had moderate obesity while 5 (9.4%) had severe or morbid obesity. Also, 32.5% (52/160) of the study population were overweight while 34.4% (55/160) had normal BMI. Maternal age > 35 years (P = 0.04, OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.01 – 8.15), history of previous delivery (P = 0.03, OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.08 – 5.55) and self-reported satisfactory income (P = 0.03, OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.11 – 8.86) were significant independent predictive factors of obesity among the study population. Conclusion: Obesity is common in this obstetric population and older women, previous delivery and self-reported satisfactory income were its predictive factors. The need for prenatal health awareness about obesity and identification of these women aimed at instituting early antenatal surveillance and identification of complication(s) is advocated.