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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders pp 1–3Cite as

Maternal Obesity and ASD Risk

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Definition

Obesity is a nutritional and metabolic life-course condition with excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that affects health adversely. Body mass index (BMI) calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared was used for the definition of obesity. By this measure, obesity is defined as a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 for adults. Furthermore, BMI values were classified in the following categories: underweight <18·5; normal 18.5–24.9; overweight 25–29.9; obese class I 30–34.9, obese class II 35–39.9; obese class III ≥ 40 according to the National Institute of Health guidelines on obesity and overweight (NIH 1998). While there is no existing definition of maternal obesity during pregnancy, a maternal prepregnancy BMI is used for the classification.

Historical Background

In 2011, Dodds et al. (2011) published their study quantifying the relationship between prenatal, obstetric, and neonatal factors and autism risk. They first reported that prepregnancy weight of 90 kg or...

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References and Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Yong-Jiang Li

  2. Clinical Nursing Teaching and Research Section, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

    Ya-Min Li

Authors
  1. Yong-Jiang Li
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  2. Ya-Min Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ya-Min Li .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Li, YJ., Li, YM. (2020). Maternal Obesity and ASD Risk. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102211-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102211-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6435-8

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Maternal Obesity and ASD Risk
    Published:
    05 March 2020

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102211-2

  2. Original

    Maternal Obesity and ASD Risk
    Published:
    06 September 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102211-1

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