title: Ethnic differences in postpartum weight retention: a Norwegian cohort study.
abstract: To explore ethnic differences in weight retention 14 weeks postpartum.
  
  
  
  Population-based cohort study.
  
  
  
  The STORK Groruddalen Study.
  
  
  
  A multi-ethnic cohort of healthy pregnant women attending primary antenatal care at three public Child Health Clinics, in Oslo, Norway (n = 642).
  
  
  
  An explanatory linear regression was performed to model the relationship between ethnicity and postpartum weight retention. Forward selection of 12 explanatory factors was used to adjust for potential confounding factors, based on univariate analysis and adjusted R(2) .
  
  
  
  Postpartum weight retention.
  
  
  
  Unadjusted mean postpartum weight retention was 2.3 (4.9) kg for women from Western Europe and varied from 3.7 (3.5) to 6.3 (4.7) kg among the five ethnic minority groups. The proportion of women in the highest quintile (postpartum weight retention >8.5-24.4 kg) significantly differed by ethnicity (P < 0.01 for the proportion of women from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa compared with Western Europeans). Women from all ethnic minority groups had a higher relative increase in weight from pre-pregnancy to postpartum (P < 0.01) compared with Western Europeans. After adjustments for significant exposures, women from the Middle East retained 2.0 kg (95% CI: 1.0-3.0), South Asia 2.8 kg (91.9-3.6), and Africa 4.4 kg (3.1-5.8) more than Western Europeans (P < 0.01).
  
  
  
  Significantly more women with an ethnic origin from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa had high postpartum weight retention compared with Western European women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity and Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.|Department of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Waage
authors.affiliation: Oslo Center for Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity and Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mørkrid
authors.affiliation: Department for Women's and Children's Health, Norwegian Resource Centre for Women's Health, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.|Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Richardsen
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Resource Centre for Breastfeeding, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baerug
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shakeel
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Morbid Obesity and Preventive Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.|Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Birkeland
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.|Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jenum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D044383:Black People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000208:ethnology*; D044465:White People
keywords: Ethnicity; gestational weight gain; postpartum weight retention