Infertility
Charles Theisler in Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
For women, to improve the chances of getting pregnant, mayoclinic.org recommends: Quit smoking. Tobacco has multiple negative effects on fertility, not to mention the negative impact on general health and on the health of a fetus.Avoid alcohol and street drugs. These substances may impair the ability to conceive and to have a healthy pregnancy. Women who are trying to become pregnant should not drink alcohol or use recreational drugs, such as marijuana or cocaine.Limit caffeine. Women trying to get pregnant may want to limit caffeine intake. Medical professionals can provide guidance on the safe use of caffeine.Exercise moderately. Regular exercise is important but exercising so intensely that monthly periods are infrequent or absent has a negative effect on fertility.Avoid weight extremes. Being overweight or underweight can adversely affect hormone production and cause infertility.1
Gestational Weight Gain and Postpartum Obesity
Priyanka Bhatt, Maryam Sadat Miraghajani, Sarvadaman Pathak, Yashwant Pathak in Nutraceuticals for Prenatal, Maternal and Offspring’s Nutritional Health, 2019
While gaining too much weight can be detrimental to an expecting woman’s health, gaining the adequate amount of weight can be tedious for certain women, especially those who fall in the underweight category according to their BMI. [10] Underprovided nutrition during gestation occurs due to poor dietary choices. The meager consumption of essential fatty acids, micronutrients, and proteins results in an inadequate amount of GWG and low body mass. [11] Healthcare providers recommend to women at risk of not gaining sufficient gestational weight that they should avoid skipping meals. Experts recommend that frequent meals should be consumed throughout the day. Women at risk should increase their consumption of nuts, fortified dairy products, and foods high in good fats such as avocados and olive oil. Additionally, they should consume food items rich in vitamin C as well as should consider taking prenatal vitamins and supplements. [10] There are risks associated with mothers not consuming enough macronutrients as well as micronutrients with regard to the child, such as a greater risk of low birthweight and infant mortality. The child can experience a variety of childhood development disorders, one of which includes the development of cognitive abilities of the child being hindered. [12, 13] Pregorexia is a condition where a pregnant woman consumes too little food or exercises too much to gain as little weight as possible. This could lead to preterm labor, anemia, infections, and many other health concerns for the baby. [14]
Nutrient Requirements and Recommendations during Pregnancy
Crystal D. Karakochuk, Kyly C. Whitfield, Tim J. Green, Klaus Kraemer in The Biology of the First 1,000 Days, 2017
Additional energy requirements are dependent on the expected weight gain of the mother, for which there are a number of determinants. Prepregnancy nutritional status (i.e., body mass index before pregnancy) is an important determinant of ideal weight gain. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) updated weight gain recommendations for women based on prepregnancy body mass index (BMI; kg/m2). Underweight women (BMI <18.5) are recommended to gain between 12.7 and 18.1 kg; normal weight women (BMI 18.5 to 24.9) between 11.3 and 15.9 kg; overweight women (BMI 24.9 to 29.9) between 6.8 and 11.3 kg; and obese women (BMI ≥30.0) between 5.0 and 9.1 kg. It is recommended that women of short stature (<157 cm) gain weight at the lower range for their prepregnancy BMI [1,3].
Role of endometriosis in defining cardiovascular risk: a gender medicine approach for women’s health
Published in Human Fertility, 2022
Michela Cirillo, Maria Elisabetta Coccia, Felice Petraglia, Cinzia Fatini
According to the WHO criteria, underweight was defined when the Body Mass Index (BMI) was <18.5 Kg/m2, normal weight when BMI was ≥18.5 and <25 Kg/m2, and overweight when BMI was ≥25 Kg/m2. Anthropometric parameters were also measured in order to evaluate abdominal fat. Waist circumference was measured midway between the inferior margin of the lowest rib and the iliac crest in the horizontal plane at the end of normal expiration; hip circumference was measured at the widest point over the buttocks. A waist circumference of ≥80 cm was considered a marker of increased cardiovascular risk according to Alberti et al. (2005); waist to hip ratio (WHR) was obtained by dividing the waist circumference by hip circumference, and values ≥0.80 were considered a marker of increased cardiovascular risk (Lear et al., 2010). Self-reported physical activity grade was investigated and sedentary behaviour was defined as absent or light (i.e. either occasional walking or recreational activity only).
Neighborhood Stigma and Sleep: Findings from a Pilot Study of Low-Income Housing Residents in New York City
Published in Behavioral Medicine, 2018
Ryan Richard Ruff, Jeannie Ng, Girardin Jean-Louis, Brian Elbel, Basile Chaix, Dustin T. Duncan
Covariates included categorical age (18–24 years, 25–44 years, and ≥ 45 years), gender, race/ethnicity (black, Hispanic, other), education (12th grade education, high school degree or GED, and some college or more), employment status (full-time, part-time, or not working), and household income (<$25,000 and ≥ $25,000 +). Obesity was calculated following established guidelines from the World Health Organization.43 Body Mass Index (BMI) lower than 18.5 was classified as underweight, 18.5–24.9 as normal weight, 25–29.9 as overweight, and 30 and higher as obese. The neighborhood percent of non-Hispanic black residents and neighborhood median household income at the census block group level were calculated using geographic information systems software using data from the 2010 US Census and the 2009–2013 American Community Survey.
COVID-19: quarantine, isolation, and lifestyle diseases
Published in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2023
Heena Rehman, Md Iftekhar Ahmad
BMI (Body mass index) of a person reflects the health of a person. The BMI of a healthy person should range between 18.5 and 2.9. People falling below this range are said to be underweight and people falling above this range are overweight. People with having a BMI of more than 30 are considered obese. Since the people are not able to go to gyms during quarantine; they try to maintain their weight either by dieting, fasting, or using weight-reducing drugs (Hensrud 2001). These measures might result in losing too much weight and becoming underweight. There are several health risks of underweight such as loss of lean mass might affect their immune system (Chandra 2002), menstrual irregularities, infertility(Jokela et al. 2008), and osteoporosis (Bachrach-Lindström et al. 2000). Women might start to exercise anorexia nervosa to control their weight.