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Chapter 26 - Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome in Pregnancy

from Section 4 - Maternal Medicine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2021

By
Aoife M. Egan  and
Fidelma P. Dunne
Edited by
Tahir Mahmood ,
Charles Savona Ventura ,
Ioannis Messinis  and
Sambit Mukhopadhyay
Tahir Mahmood
Affiliation:
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy
Charles Savona Ventura
Affiliation:
University of Malta, Malta
Ioannis Messinis
Affiliation:
University of Thessaly, Greece
Sambit Mukhopadhyay
Affiliation:
Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, UK
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Summary

The term obesity refers to an excess of body fat. As direct measurements of total body fat mass are complex, body mass index (BMI) is commonly used in clinical practice as an obesity index. BMI may be defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of her height in meters (kg/m2). Table 26.1 outlines the BMI categories frequently used in clinical practice, with a BMI ≥30 mg/m2 categorized as obesity [1]. Due to the multiple changes in body mass that take place during pregnancy, pregnant women are typically described based on their pre-pregnancy BMI.

Type
Chapter
Information
The EBCOG Postgraduate Textbook of Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Obstetrics & Maternal-Fetal Medicine
 , pp. 213 - 220
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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