Pre-pregnancy body mass index in 1 079 171 women attended in public hospitals of the 24 provinces of Argentina

Abstract

 INTRODUCTION: Pre-pregnancy nutritional status measured through BMI (body mass index) is related to fetal growth, birth weight and neonatal mortality rate. Overweight and obesity are public health problems involving more than 650 million adults worldwide. When women become pregnant, this problem needs to be addressed during prenatal controls. In Argentina, the Perinatal Information System (SIP) published by the Latin American Center for Perinatology (CLAP) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) is the largest perinatal database for medical records and provides information for public policy decision-making. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, using BMI, the nutritional status at the beginning of pregnancy in women attending public hospitals in the 24 provinces of Argentina. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements from the SIP for 2012-2017were processed. RESULTS: A total of 4.3% of women had low BMI, 56.5% had a normal weight, and 24.4% and 14.7% were overweight or obese, respectively, and regional variations were observed. A sustained increase in obesity was observed, going from 12.2% in 2012 to 17.5% in 2017. DISCUSSION: The time series 2012-2017 shows a sustained and statistically significant increase in obesity among women starting pregnanc