• Seo-Yeon Kim, Soo-Young Oh, Ji-Hee Sung, Suk-Joo Choi, Cheong-Rae Roh, Seung Mi Lee, Jong Kwan Jun, Mi-Young Lee, JoonHo Lee, Soo Hyun Kim, Dong Hyun Cha, You Jung Han, Min Hyoung Kim, Geum Joon Cho, Han-Sung Kwon, Byoung Jae Kim, Mi Hye Park, Hee Young Cho, Hyun Sun Ko, Jae-Yoon Shim, and Hyun Mee Ryu.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2021 Nov 15; 36 (44): e281e281.

BackgroundPeople are generally considered overweight and obese if their body mass index (BMI) is above 25 kg/m² and 30.0 kg/m², respectively. The World Health Organization proposed stricter criteria for Asians (≥ 23 kg/m²: overweight, ≥ 25 kg/m²: obese). We aimed to verify whether this criteria could predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in Korean women.MethodsWe included 7,547 Korean women from 12 institutions enrolled between June 2016 and October 2018. Women with no pre-pregnancy BMI data, not Korean, or lost to follow-up were excluded, leaving 6,331. The subjects were categorized into underweight, normal, overweight, class I obesity, and class II/III obesity based on a pre-pregnancy BMI of < 18.5, 18.5-22.9, 23.0-24.9, 25.0-29.9, and ≥ 30.0 kg/m², respectively.ResultsOverall, 13.4%, 63.0%, 11.8%, 9.1%, and 2.6% of women were underweight, normal, and overweight and had class I obesity and class II/III obesity, respectively. In the multivariable analysis adjusted for maternal age, a higher BMI significantly increased the risk of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery caused by maternal-fetal indications, cesarean section, large for gestational age, and neonatal intensive care unit admission.ConclusionAdverse pregnancy outcomes started to increase in those with a pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 23.0 kg/m² after adjusting for maternal age. The modified obesity criteria could help predict adverse pregnancy outcomes in Koreans.© 2021 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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