Determinants of Weight Gain Among Postpartum Women in Arusha-Urban, Tanzania
Loading...
Date
2025-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
NM-AIST
Abstract
Overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age are a concern of public health significance. Currently, there is minimal information on the magnitude of postpartum overweight and obesity in Tanzania. The present study sought to establish the prevalence of postpartum overweight and obesity, its association with dietary patterns and sociodemographic attributes in an urban setting of Arusha region. A longitudinal study using a multistage sampling is implemented to determine the magnitude of overweight and obesity among post- partum women. A total number of 247 women were randomly recruited while attending their routine postnatal care services from three health facilities which were: Ngarenaro, Kaloleni and Moivaro health centers between March 2022 and June 2022. The study used a quantitative
approach to examine the relationship between postpartum overweight and obesity, dietary patterns and sociodemographic attributes. The study used semi structured questionnaire for data collection and food consumption was measured by using 24-hours dietary recall. The analysis used IBM SPSS Version 25, where measures of central tendency for description of some social demographic data was conducted. The Pearson chi-square test to compare weight gain (BMI) with independent and dependent variables and Ordinal logistic regression to assess association between study variables. The study shows that prevalence of overweight and
obesity at both six- and twelve-weeks post-partum women was high (56% and 59% respectively). A significant relationship between age and BMI was observed at six and twelve weeks (p<0.01). Odds of being obese or overweight versus in normal BMI are 1.6 and 1.7 times greater at six and twelve weeks, respectively, than those who met their minimum dietary diversity (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). The research results demonstrated an association between participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, postpartum dietary practices and weight gain. The study recommends that dietary diversification and participation in physical activities at all period of reproductive cycles (pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post-partum) is necessary.
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG: 2- Zero Hunger
SDG: 3- Good Health and Well-Being
Keywords
Gestational weight gain, dietary practices, post-partum weight retention