Abstract
Overweight and obesity have become a world-health public problem, mainly for developing countries. Both health conditions have a higher prevalence among women of childbearing age. Physiopathology, overweight and obesity are characterized by a chronic oxidative stress status, which has deleterious effects on mothers and children. Hence, we determine whether the qualities of diet during pregnancy and maternal pregestational body mass index (BMI) are associated with increased oxidative stress markers in mothers and newborns. Two hundred forty-two (242) mother-newborn pairs were classified according to their pregestational BMI. Information on food intake was collected using a food frequency questionnaire in the third trimester of pregnancy. Levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Nitric Oxide (NO) were measured in plasma from mothers at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy and from cord blood at birth. MDA and NO levels in mother–newborn pairs with maternal pregestational overweight or obesity were higher than in mother–newborn pairs with pregestational normal weight. For women (and newborns) who had a higher intake of fruit and vegetables, the levels of NO and MDA were lower. Lastly, women with pregestational obesity had lower fruit and vegetable intake during pregnancy and higher levels of oxidative stress and in their newborns.
Highlights
This article is an open access articleOverweight and obesity result from a persistent increase in a positive energy balance associated with a modern sedentary lifestyle and nutrition richer in quantity but lower in quality
The perinatal characteristics of mothers and the characteristics of the newborns at birth were categorized according to the pregestational maternal body mass index (BMI) (Table 1)
Weight gain during pregnancy was lower in women with obesity compared to those with normal weight (p = 0.002)
Summary
Overweight and obesity result from a persistent increase in a positive energy balance associated with a modern sedentary lifestyle and nutrition richer in quantity but lower in quality. Obesity in adults is a risk factor for metabolic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases [1]. Obesity rates vary among ethnic groups, but obesity is present in a large population of Hispanic women [2]. In Mexico, for women of childbearing age (aged 12 to 49), the prevalence of obesity reaches up to 47.6% [3]. Obesity during pregnancy has been associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome later in postnatal life during adolescence [4]. Obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of metabolic syndrome in subsequent pregnancies [5]
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