Excessive gestational weight gain has already become a global clinical and public health problem that seriously affects maternal health. Excessive gestational weight gain not only increases the cesarean section rate and induces adverse pregnant outcomes, but also affects offspring development and health. This article reviews the effects of excessive weight gain during pregnancy on offspring health and its underlying mechanisms. Excessive gestational weight gain may increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, mental or psychological illness among offspring, and the pathophysiological mechanisms include inflammatory response, intestinal flora dysbiosis and epigenetics theory. However, further studies are required to validate these hypotheses and to evaluate the effect of excessive weight gain at different gestational stages on offspring health, so as to provide insights into reasonable management of weight gain during pregnancy and improvements of offspring health.

Objective: To investigate the motivation for weight self-management and analyze its influencing factors among pregnant women in a tertiary hospital in Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, so as to provide insights into body weight management during pregnancy. Methods: Pregnant women at ages of 18 years and older that underwent prenatal examinations in a tertiary hospital in Hohhot City from January to March, 2022 were sampled using a convenience sampling method. Subjects' age, height, weight, occupation, residence, monthly household income, history of gestation and childbirth and gestational period were collected, and the motivation for weight self-management was evaluated among pregnant women using a pregnancy weight management protein motivation scale. The factors affecting the motivation for weight self-management were identified among pregnant women using a multivariable linear regression model. Results: Totally 969 pregnant women were recruited, including 841 women at ages of <35 years (86.79%), 780 women with an educational level of diploma and above (80.50%), 794 women living in urban areas (81.94%), 729 primiparas (75.23%), 421 women in the third trimester of gestation (43.45%) and 758 women with pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of <25 kg/m2 (78.22%). The mean score of motivation for weight self-management was 127.53±14.60 among the pregnant women. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that an educational level of high school and below (β′=-0.201), unemployed/self-employed individuals (β′=-0.077), living in rural areas (β′=-0.059), monthly household income of <10 000 yuan (<5 000 yuan, β′=-0.238; 5 000 to 10 000 yuan, β′=-0.169), in the third trimester of gestation (β′=-0.135), pre-pregnancy BMI of 25 kg/m2 and higher (β′=-0.214) and reduced the motivation for weight self-management among pregnant women. Conclusion The motivation for weight self-management correlates with gestational period, pre-pregnancy BMI, residence, occupation, educational level and monthly household income among pregnant women.