. "2 Descriptive Epidemiology and Trends." Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2009.
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Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexaming the Guidelines
TABLE 2-1 Distribution of BMI (World Health Organization categories) from 1976 to 2004 Among U.S. Nonpregnant Women 12 to 44 Years of Age by Race or Ethnicity and Age (percentage)
obesity among American women of childbearing age (Flegal et al., 1998; Mokdad et al., 1999; IOM, 2005; Kim et al., 2007). The prevalence of obesity in women 12 to 44 years of age has more than doubled since 1976 (Table 2-1). Data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in 1999-2004 showed that nearly two-thirds of women of child-bearing age were classified as overweight (as defined by BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), and almost one-third were obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) (personal communication, A. Branum, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], December 2008). Obesity is far more common among racial or ethnic minority groups and increases in prevalence with advancing age.
