Vast majority of women weigh more a year after giving birth: RESEARCH

The women of Hollywood may make it look easy, but losing weight after a baby isn't so simple for everyone else. And now, science confirms it.

Researchers from the University of Chicago followed 774 women with an average body mass index in the "overweight" range. They found that more than 75% of them weighed more one year after giving birth than they did pre-pregnancy, and that many of them soon ventured into the obese category.

"This unfortunately showed that pregnancy itself is leading to obesity or (being) overweight for a substantial number of women," Dr. Loraine Endres, an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago, told HealthDay.

 

But because the women started out overweight, they may have had difficulty in general shedding weight post-baby, the Obstetrics and Gynecology study acknowledged.

For women who had a normal weight before pregnancy, almost half still had 10 extra pounds on them a year later and almost a quarter had 20 or more. Extra weight ups your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancers.

Surprisingly, being in shape before a pregnancy can help you lose weight once the baby comes, the authors said. When you are pregnant, eat right and stay active to boost your odds of slimming down post-baby.

"The more you gain, the harder it is to ever lose that weight," Endres continued. "From the moment women conceive, as health care providers we need to start talking with them about appropriate weight gain and remaining active."

Breastfeeding can be a big help to women looking to lose baby weight, since it can burn 300-500 calories a day.

The Institute of Medicine says that a woman with a normal BMI of 18.5-24.9 should gain 25-35 pounds while pregnant. Overweight women in the 25-29.9 BMI range should gain 15-25 pounds, while obese women with a BMI over 30 should gain 11-20 pounds.