Association Between Parity, Live Birth and the Risk of Obesity in Women

Obesity is a rapidly increasing concern among women and men particularly in the Middle East countries. This study was aimed to determine the relation between reproductive factors and the risk of obesity, particularly abdominal obe-sity in women. We conducted a popula-tion based cross-sectional study on a sample of 1800 women, aged between 20 to 70 years, using cluster sampling techniques in an urban area, in the north of Iran. The height, weight and waist circumference were measured with standard methods and information on the number of pari-ties, live births, pregnancy, social and demo-graphic status, and data on life style was col-lected during interviews. The mean (±SD) age of women was 37.5±13.0 years; 22.6% of women were nullipa-rous, 31.7% had 1-2, and 19.9% ≥5 pregnancies respectively. About 22.9% of women had no his-tory of parity, and33.8%, and 17.4% had 1-2 and ≥5 parities respectively. The overall prevalence rate of obesity and abdominal obesity was 27.7% and 46.2% respectively. In multiple logistic re-gression analysis, after adjustment for age, edu-cation level, marital status, parental obesity, marriage age, occupational activity, leisure time physical activity, duration of exercise per week, the risk of obesity increased significantly by 9% (adjusted OR=1.09, 95%CI: 1.01-1.18) and 10% (adjusted OR=1.10, 95% CI: 1.01-1.21) with each additional parity and live birth respectively. The results of this study indicate that the risk of obesity escalates with increase in the number of parities and live births. Hence, reproductive factors should be considered as in-dependent risk factors of obesity in women.