Health Indicator Report of Obesity in Pregnancy
Women who are not at a healthy weight prior to pregnancy are at increased risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Women who are obese prior to pregnancy have longer hospital stays and higher utilization of medical care during pregnancy.
Obese BMI Prior to Pregnancy by Ethnicity, Utah, 2018-2019
Notes
Obesity for adults is defined as a BMI of 30 or more. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters.Data Source
Utah Birth Certificate Database, Office of Vital Records and Statistics, Utah Department of HealthDefinition
Percentage of women who delivered a live birth and had a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30.0 kg/m^2^ calculated from prepregnancy weight and height.Numerator
The number of women who delivered a live birth and had a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30.0 kg/m^2^ calculated from pre-pregnancy weight and height.Denominator
Total number of live births.Healthy People Objective MICH-16.5:
Increase the proportion of women delivering a live birth who had a healthy weight prior to pregnancyU.S. Target: 53.4 percent
How Are We Doing?
The percentage of Utah women with a healthy prepregnancy BMI (18.5 - 25) has decreased over the last decade to a low of 47.4% in 2019. Utah's rate is slightly higher (better) than the Healthy People 2030 objective of 47.1%. The proportion of Utah women with an obese prepregnancy BMI has increased each year from 14.5% in 2005 to 23.2% in 2019.How Do We Compare With the U.S.?
In 2018 (the last year of available U.S. data), the percentage of Utah women with an obese BMI prior to pregnancy was 22.6% compared to 27.5% in the U.S.What Is Being Done?
In an effort to reduce the rate of obesity in reproductive-aged women, the emphasis is being placed on maternal preconception health to help women achieve optimal weight and health prior to pregnancy. Women should be counseled on their weight by their primary caregivers as part of well-woman care and should be informed of their increased risks for adverse outcomes once becoming pregnant if they are at an unhealthy weight. Women who are pregnant should be counseled about appropriate weight gain during pregnancy and postpartum weight loss to prevent obesity in future pregnancies. The Utah Department of Health's EPICC Program has information on healthy eating and physical activity for all Utah citizens: http://choosehealth.utah.gov/
Page Content Updated On 10/15/2020,
Published on 10/22/2020
