Trends in body mass index during early pregnancy in Swedish women 1978-2001.
OBJECTIVE
To study the body mass index (BMI) in women seeking maternity health care during early pregnancy in Sweden, and to show trends for a period of more than 20 years.


METHODS
Register study.


METHODS
Data from the maternity health programme on consecutively delivered women in two Swedish hospitals were collected for the years 1978, 1986, 1992, 1997 and 2001. All women were weighed at their first midwife visit between 8 and 10 weeks of gestation and height was also measured.


RESULTS
Data on 4883 women were collected. Data on weight were available for 4490 (92%) women and data on BMI were available for 4378 (90%) women. The age-adjusted average weight increased from 59.5 kg in 1978 to 68.2 kg in 2001, and the BMI increased from 21.7 in 1978 to 24.7 in 2001. In 2001, 38.6% of the women had a BMI >25 compared with 11.2 in 1978. In 2001, 11.6% of the women were obese compared with 2.2% in 1978.


CONCLUSIONS
During the last two decades, an alarming increase in weight has occurred in Swedish women of childbearing age.
Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Hospital, SE-581 85 Linköping, Sweden. jan.brynhildsen@lio.se
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J
Brynhildsen
A
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Sydsjö
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Norinder
K Ekholm
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Selling
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Sydsjö
D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First / Q000502:physiology*; D011295:Prenatal Care; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology