Background: Pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity in reproductive-aged women becomes a growing tendency in middle- and high-income populations. This study aimed to evaluate whether maternal excess body mass index (BMI) before gestation is associated with children's anthropometric characteristics, as well as perinatal and postnatal outcomes.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed on 5198 children aged 2-5 years old and their paired mothers, assigned from 9 different areas of Greece.