PREMARITAL PERCEPTION ON OBESITY AND GESTATIONAL WEIGHT GAIN

SAEED, SAAD YOUNUS; SULAIMAN ELIAS, FADWA

	PREMARITAL PERCEPTION ON OBESITY AND GESTATIONAL WEIGHT GAIN
Duhok Medical Journal
Article 5, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2016, Pages 5-5
Authors
SAAD YOUNUS SAEED¹; FADWA SULAIMAN ELIAS²
¹Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Duhok
²Public Health Specialist, Department of Maternal Care, Directorate of Preventive Health, Duhok
Abstract
Background and aim: Increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among women in the childbearing age and during pregnancy is a growing global public health problem. The study aimed to assess pre-marital women’s perception as to their own weight and future gestational weight gain. Methods: Four hundred women selected by systematic random sampling from the Premarital Clinic at the Central Laboratory of Duhok city, have been directly interviewed, during the period from June 1, to July 31, 2014. They answered questions related to perceptions on their current own weight and future healthy gestational weight gain. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was 44.3%. Seventy-three percent of the overweight/obese women underestimated their body mass index, in comparison to 26.6% of the normal weight women. Only 10.8% of all the women possessed proper knowledge on the best gestational weight gain for themselves. Relations of socio-demographic factors with perception of own weight and gestational weight gain guidelines, were statistically not significant. However, obese women had prevalence of high perception on gestational weight guidelines of 16.3%, compared to 0% and 1.4% for the underweight and normal-weight respondents, respectively (P= 0.001). Conclusion: Premarital women’s level of perception as to their own weight and proper gestational weight gain was low.
Keywords
Premarital; Perception; Overweight; Obesity; Gestational Weight Gain

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