Trying to Lose or Maintain Weight During Pregnancy—United States, 2003

Abstract

Current pregnancy weight gain recommendations are for women to gain between 15 and 40 pounds; weight loss or weight maintenance is not recommended. However, for many women, overweight and obesity are chronic conditions, and commitment to weight loss or maintenance could override advice to gain weight during pregnancy. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of trying to lose or maintain weight among U.S. women during pregnancy. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System is a state-based, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of noninstitutionalized, U.S. civilians aged > or =18 years. We identified women aged 18-44 years who reported being pregnant during 2003 (n = 2,464), assessed the prevalence of trying to lose or maintain weight and assessed independent associations with selected demographic, clinical, and behavioral factors using multinomial logistic regression. Among women who reported being pregnant, 7.5% (confidence interval [CI] = 5.7-9.8%) and 34.3% (CI = 31.0-37.7%) were trying to lose or maintain weight, respectively. Among women who reported trying to lose or maintain weight, exercise was a more prevalent weight control strategy than dietary change. After adjustment, women who drank alcohol during the past 30 days (Odds ratio [OR] = 8.86, CI: 4.51-17.42) or women who received advice in the past year to lose weight (OR = 9.10, CI: 3.20-25.87) were more likely to report trying to lose weight; women advised to maintain (OR = 0.20, CI: 0.07-0.60) or gain (OR = 0.04, CI: 0.01-0.23) weight were less likely to report trying to lose weight. Despite guidelines to gain weight during pregnancy, about 8% and 34% of U.S. pregnant women reported trying to lose or maintain weight, respectively. Providers may encounter an increasing number of pregnant women whose weight control intentions conflict with current guidelines for pregnancy weight gain. Further research in this area is warranted.