Short stature increases obesity risk in Brazilian women in urban areas

Short stature increases obesity risk in Brazilian women in urban areas

(Univ. Estadual do Rio de Janeiro-December 17, 2003)

Women with a short stature in the developed areas of Brazil were at increased risk of obesity and weight gain during pregnancy.

"Short stature, a marker for undernutrition early in life, has been associated with obesity in Brazilian women, but not in men. We tested the hypothesis that weight gain during the reproductive years could explain this gender difference. A national two-stage household survey of mothers with one or more children under five years of age was conducted in Brazil in 1996," researchers in Brazil report.

"The subjects were women aged 20 to 45 years (n=2,297), with last delivery seven months or more prior to delivery," said Rosely Sichieri and colleagues at the Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro. "The regions of the country were divided into rural, North/Northeast (urban underdeveloped) and South/Southeast/Midwest (urban developed). The dependent variables were current body mass index (BMI) measured, BMI prior to childbearing (reported), and BMI change. Socioeconomic variables included mother's years of education and family purchasing power score. A secondary analysis was restricted to primiparous women."

"The prevalence of current overweight and overweight prior to childbearing (BMIgreater than or equal to25 kg/m2) was higher among shorter women (<1.50 m) compared to normal stature women only in the urban developed region (p<0.05)," reported the investigators. "After adjustment for socioeconomic variables, age, parity, BMI prior to childbearing, and age at first birth, current BMI was 2.39 units higher (p=0.008) for short stature women living in the urban developed area compared with short stature women living in the urban underdeveloped area. For both multiparous and primiparous women, BMI gain compared to the value prior to childbearing was significantly higher among short stature women living in the urban developed region (pless than or equal to0.04)."

"These results provide clear evidence that short stature was associated with a higher BMI and with an increased risk of weight gain/retention with pregnancy in the developed areas of Brazil, but not in the underdeveloped ones," concluded the scientists.

Sichieri and collaborators published their study in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research (Combined effect of short stature and socioeconomic status on body mass index and weight gain during reproductive age in Brazilian women. Braz J Med Biol Res, 2003;36(10):1319-1325).

For additional information, contact Anibal Sanchez Moura, Laboratorio de Fisiologia da Nutricao e do Desenvolvimento, Departamento de Ciencias Fisiologicas, IB, Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro, Av. 28 de setembro, 87 fundos, 20550-030 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Obesity Risk Factor, Obesity Pathogenesis, Women's Health, Obstetrics, and Body Mass Index. This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports.