الفهرس 
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Abstract
Obesity has become epidemic all around the world. The prevalence and degree of obesity have increased rapidly over the last several decades (Sukalich et al., 2006).
Definitions of obesity have varied widely. Common descriptions of obesity include absolute body weight (pounds or kilograms), body mass index (BMI, weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), and percentage of ideal body weight. In 1990, the Institute of Medicine(IOM) published definitions of weight categories using BMI as the unites of measuremente. The follwing criteria were used for the weight-for-height categories: under weight, BMI less than 18.5; average weight, BMI 18.5-24.9; overweight, BMI 25.0-29.0; obese, BMI above 30.0; grossly obese, BMI above 40 (Weiss et al., 2004).
Obese women have a tendency for the development of obstetric complications and obesity is itself a risk factor in pregnancy (Lu et al., 2001).
Obesity increases the risk of a number of antenatal complications of pregnancy. The risk of developing pre-eclampsia during pregnancy is increased if the expectant mother is significantly obese. This risk is in the order of 2-3 fold with a BMI greater than 30kg m-2 (O’Brien et al., 2006 Cedergren et al., 2006).