Obesity and Pregnancy Outcomes

Pre-pregnancy obesity is increasingly common worldwide and is a leading, modifiable driver of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Higher adiposity before and during pregnancy is linked to a greater risk of gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (including preeclampsia), cesarean delivery, and postpartum weight retention, alongside neonatal complications such as preterm birth, abnormal fetal growth, and longer-term metabolic risk in the offspring. At the same time, clinical care is evolving rapidly: updated models of preconception cardiometabolic risk, more precise guidance on gestational weight gain, and rising use of anti-obesity pharmacotherapies (with pregnancy-related discontinuation concerns) are reshaping research priorities. These shifts, together with expanding omics, microbiome, and implementation-science approaches, make this an especially timely topic for nutrition-focused, multidisciplinary work.This Research Topic aims to consolidate high-quality clinical, translational, and population research that clarifies how obesity influences pregnancy outcomes and, crucially, which nutrition and lifestyle strategies can reduce risk before conception, across gestation, and into the postpartum period. We welcome studies that integrate dietary assessment, metabolism, behavior change, equity, and real-world implementation, with clear relevance to human nutrition and maternal–child health.Key themes of interest include:• Preconception nutrition and weight management strategies and their impact on metabolic and obstetric endpoints• Gestational weight gain trajectories: determinants, monitoring, and effective nutrition interventions• Diet quality, cardiometabolic biomarkers, and inflammation as mechanistic links to complications• Microbiome, nutrigenomics, and metabolic phenotyping to refine risk stratification and personalized care• Postpartum nutrition, lactation, and interpregnancy health, including prevention of long-term obesity and diabetes in parent and child Topic editors: Milan Lackovic, Marija Rovcanin Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78610/obesity-and-pregnancy-outcomes