Abstract
Background and Purpose: Over half of women entering pregnancy are overweight or obese, increasing metabolic risk. This pilot study investigated whether established equations for estimating maternal percent body fat using anthropometry are accurate for Hispanic, overweight or obese pregnant women. Methods: The Siri technique of calculating percent body fat from direct measurements of body density and total body water was the gold-standard. Other pregnancy-specific equations were also examined. The study population included 15 normoglycemic, pregnant Hispanic women in their third trimester (33.2±1.9 gestational week) with a pre-pregnancy body mass index ≥25 to
Highlights
A body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 is typically used in health care settings to define overweight and obesity; the true definition of these terms is excess fat accumulation (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.)
gestational weight gain (GWG) at time of measurement was 6.1 ± 4.8 kg, which is within the recommended range of total GWG for women in the obese pre-pregnancy BMI category (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2009)
Trends show that 58.8% and 55.6% of women entering pregnancy with a BMI categorized as overweight or obese, respectively, exceed the Institute of Medicine GWG recommendations (Dalenius, Brindley, Smith, Reinold, & Grummer-Strawn, 2012)
Summary
A body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 is typically used in health care settings to define overweight and obesity; the true definition of these terms is excess fat accumulation (World Health Organization [WHO], n.d.). A growing body of research strongly suggests that excess adiposity can lead to metabolic dysfunction (Ouchi, Parker, Lugus, & Walsh, 2011), and that percent body fat (%BF), more than BMI, is a better predictor of health risk (De Lorenzo et al, 2013; Frankenfield, Rowe, Cooney, Smith, & Becker, 2001). For populations such as persons of certain ethnicities, including Hispanics, that tend to exhibit android-type obesity (characterized by central adiposity), there is even greater correlation of metabolic dysfunction due to the accumulation of visceral fat associated with central adiposity (Ouchi et al, 2011; StultsKolehmainen, Stanforth, & Bartholomew, 2012). Discussion: Using skinfold thickness measurements and the Presley equation to assess percent body fat may be useful and accessible for this population
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