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accessHealthNews.net
April 2025
Volume 11 | Issue No. 95
Mary Beth Taranow, a retired operating room nurse
In 2025, the World Obesity Atlas reported
that more than 1.5 million pregnant
women in the United States had obesity.
Data from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal
significant disparities across racial and
socioeconomic lines. By race, Black,
Latinx, and Native American women have
the highest rates of obesity, while white
and Asian women have the lowest. By
income, women with a college education
and those who can afford health care out
of pocket have the lowest instances of
maternal obesity.
Women who have had four or more
children face higher rates of obesity,
a trend tied to disparities in access to
pharmaceutical birth control, which
remains unaffordable or unavailable for
many financially disadvantaged women.
Maternal obesity is often mischaracterized
as a personal failing, but the data
tell a different story. Structural and
socioeconomic factors shape health
outcomes long before pregnancy. Obesity
is not the root problem—it is a symptom
of deeper inequities in access to nutrition,
health care, and preventive services.
What Causes Obesity?
Several factors play into the development
of the medical condition known as
obesity. Obesity is a medical condition
characterized by excessive body fat
relative to height, increasing the risk
of serious health complications. These
complications include hypertension, type
2 diabetes, arthritis, and high cholesterol.
Apart from physical health and genetics,
socioeconomic factors contribute to the
development of obesity. Food insecurity
is among the biggest health concerns for
those who reside in low-income areas.
READ MORE
Excessive gestational weight gain puts
pregnant people at risk of developing type 2
diabetes, preeclampsia, and heart disease.
