Maternal Outcome in Overweight and Obese Women: A Comparison between Revised Consensus Body Mass Indices (BMI) for Asian Indians and WHO Criteria

Background: Overweight or obesity is a major risk factor for maternal complications. Most western countries adhere to WHO guidelines for classifying obesity. In India, revised consensus Body Mass Indices (BMI) for Asian Indians are used for BMI classification. The present study aims to compare WHO and revised consensus BMI criteria for Asian Indians on the maternal outcome in overweight and obese women. Methodology: This was a retrospective study done in 399 women with singleton deliveries during a period of six months in a tertiary care center in South India. Data were gathered from medical records in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Two proportion Z-test and Independent t test were used for the comparison between the WHO and revised consensus BMI for Asian Indian criteria. Results: Overweight/obesity prevalence was 40.60% as per WHO criteria and 63.91% as per Asian Indian criteria. Proportionate difference was significant for the parameters GDM, PIH, and preterm labor between obese and nonobese women in Asian Indian criteria. WHO criteria showed significant difference in GDM and PIH only (p <0.05). Preterm labor was found to be insignificant between both criteria among non-obese women (p>0.05). Conclusion: The study could not find statistically significant differences between the two criteria. As the body fat distribution in Asian Indians differs considerably from other ethnic groups, we recommend the use of revised consensus BMI for Asian Indians for BMI classification to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality.