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To identify factors associated with the presence and severity of food insecurity among a sample of Honduran caregivers of young children.
Design
Cross-sectional study in which the dependent variable, household food insecurity, was measured using a fourteen-item questionnaire developed and validated in a population of similar cultural context. A predictive modelling strategy used backwards elimination in logistic regression and multinomial logit regression models to compute odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals for food insecurity.
Setting
Rural Honduras in the department of Intibucá, between March and April 2009.
Subjects
Two-hundred and ninety-eight Honduran caregivers of children aged 6–18 months.
Results
Ninety-three per cent of households were classified as having some degree of food insecurity (mild, moderate or severe). After controlling for caregiver age and marital status, compared with caregivers with more than primary-school education, those with less than primary-school education had 3·47 (95 % CI 1·34, 8·99) times the odds of severe food insecurity and 2·29 (95 % CI 1·00, 5·25) times the odds of moderate food insecurity. Our results also found that child anthropometric status was not associated with the presence or severity of food insecurity.
Conclusions
These results show that among the sociodemographic factors assessed, food insecurity in rural Honduras is associated with maternal education. Understanding key factors associated with food insecurity that are unique to Honduras can inform the design of interventions to effectively mitigate the negative impact of food insecurity on children.
Current knowledge argues that pregnancy serves as a preview of a woman’s long-term health. The numerous physiological changes during pregnancy, which stress the metabolic system [1], can reveal subclinical disease states as well as identify new ones [2,3]. Evidence for this assertion exists in studies that have examined the association between gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and subsequent type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) [4], as well as hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and subsequent cardiovascular disease risk factors [5]. Whether pregnancy is on the causal pathway or simply a time period that allows these chronic diseases to be unmasked remains yet to be determined. Obese women are more likely to be at higher risk of developing complications such as GDM, hypertensive disorders, and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy [6–9]. In this chapter we will focus on the evidence for the association between gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention among obese women, as well as the association between obesity and lack of breastfeeding, and how these associations are potentially interrelated to cause further disease in obese women.
Postpartum weight retention
Pregnancy and its associated weight gain may be potential “triggers” for the development of obesity in women [10,11]. Pooled estimates of average absolute postpartum weight retention in units of body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) are 2.42 (95% CI: 2.32–2.52) at six weeks, 1.14 (95% CI: 1.04–1.25) at six months, and 0.46 (95% CI: 0.38–0.54) at twelve months postpartum [12]. These estimates suggest that most women will lose the majority of weight that is associated with pregnancy within one year postpartum. However, many studies have observed a wide range of variation in postpartum weight retention [13,14], with as many as 20% of women having substantial postpartum weight retention ranging over 5kg (11lbs) [13].
To investigate the association between pregravid weight status and diet quality.
Design
Institute of Medicine body mass index (BMI) cut-off points of < 19.8 kg m− 2 for underweight, 19.8–26.0 kg m− 2 for normal weight, >26.0–29.0 kg m− 2 for overweight and >29 kg m− 2 for obese were used to categorise women's weight status. Dietary information was obtained by self-report at 26–28 weeks' gestation using a modified Block food-frequency questionnaire. The Diet Quality Index for Pregnancy (DQI-P) included: servings of grains, vegetables and fruits, folate, iron and calcium intake, percentage calories from fat, and meal pattern score. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between weight status and tertiles of DQI-P controlling for potential individual confounders.
Setting
A clinical-based population recruited through four prenatal clinics in central North Carolina.
Subjects
A total of 2394 women from the Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition study were included in this analysis.
Results
Evidence of a dose–response relationship was found between BMI and inadequate servings of grains and vegetables, and iron and folate intake. Pregravid obesity was associated with 76% increased odds of falling into the lowest diet quality tertile compared with underweight women after controlling for potential confounders.
Conclusion
A modest association was found between pregravid weight status and diet quality. If corroborated, these findings suggest that overweight pregnant women should be targeted for nutrition counselling interventions aimed to improve diet quality.
We explored the course of broadly defined eating disorders during pregnancy in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
Method
A total of 41 157 pregnant women, enrolled at approximately 18 weeks' gestation, had valid data from the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry. We collected questionnaire-based diagnostic information on broadly defined anorexia nervosa (AN), and bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS). EDNOS subtypes included binge eating disorder (BED) and recurrent self-induced purging in the absence of binge eating (EDNOS-P). We explored rates of remission, continuation and incidence of BN, BED and EDNOS-P during pregnancy.
Results
Prepregnancy prevalence estimates were 0·1% for AN, 0·7% for BN, 3·5% for BED and 0·1% for EDNOS-P. During early pregnancy, estimates were 0·2% (BN), 4·8% (BED) and 0·1% (EDNOS-P). Proportions of individuals remitting during pregnancy were 78% (EDNOS-P), 40% (BN purging), 39% (BED), 34% (BN any type) and 29% (BN non-purging type). Additional individuals with BN achieved partial remission. Incident BN and EDNOS-P during pregnancy were rare. For BED, the incidence rate was 1·1 per 1000 person-weeks, equating to 711 new cases of BED during pregnancy. Incident BED was associated with indices of lower socio-economic status.
Conclusions
Pregnancy appears to be a catalyst for remission of some eating disorders but also a vulnerability window for the new onset of broadly defined BED, especially in economically disadvantaged individuals. Vigilance by health-care professionals for continuation and emergence of eating disorders in pregnancy is warranted.
To examine associations of the frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants with demographic, behavioural and psychosocial factors and dietary intake in African American adults.
Methods:
Self-reported data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of 658 African Americans, aged 20–70 years, in North Carolina. An 11-page questionnaire assessed eating at fast-food restaurants, demographic, behavioural and diet-related psychosocial factors, and dietary intake (fruit, vegetable, total fat and saturated fat intakes, and fat-related dietary behaviours).
Results:
The participants were aged 43.9±11.6 years (mean±standard deviation), 41% were male, 37% were college graduates and 75% were overweight or obese. Seventy-six per cent reported eating at fast-food restaurants during the previous 3 months: 4% usually, 22% often and 50% sometimes. Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants was positively associated with total fat and saturated fat intakes and fat-related dietary behaviours (P < 0.0001) and inversely associated with vegetable intake (P < 0.05). For example, mean daily fat intake was 39.0 g for usually/often respondents and 28.3 g for those reporting rare/never eating at fast-food restaurants. Participants who reported usual/often eating at fast-food restaurants were younger, never married, obese, physically inactive and multivitamin non-users (all P < 0.01). Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants was positively associated with fair/poor self-rated health, weak belief in a diet–cancer relationship, low self-efficacy for healthy eating, weight dissatisfaction, and perceived difficulties of preparing healthy meals and ordering healthy foods in restaurants (all P < 0.05). Frequency of eating at fast-food restaurants did not differ significantly by sex, education, smoking, ability to purchase healthy foods or knowledge of the Food Guide Pyramid.
Conclusions:
Eating at fast-food restaurants is associated with higher fat and lower vegetable intakes in African Americans. Interventions to reduce fast-food consumption and obesity in African Americans should consider demographic and behavioural characteristics and address attitudes about diet–disease relationships and convenience barriers to healthy eating.
Pregnancy and postpartum iron status is of great public health importance, yet few studies have examined predictors of haemoglobin (Hb) concentration during this time. We identified predictors of Hb from 24 weeks' gestation until delivery and from 4 to 25 weeks postpartum.
Design:
Blood was drawn as many as four times during care: at the initial visit, at 24–29 weeks' gestation, at delivery and postpartum. A longitudinal, multivariable linear regression model was used to predict Hb concentration.
Setting:
A public health clinic in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Subjects:
n = 520 women who participated in the Iron Supplementation Study.
Results:
Hb concentration at the previous blood draw, short stature, non-Hispanic white ethnicity/race, > 12 years of education and smoking were positive predictors of pregnancy and postpartum Hb concentrations. Iron supplement use was a positive predictor, while inadequate weight gain and severe nausea/vomiting were negative predictors of gestational Hb. A high infant birth weight and postpartum haemorrhage were negative predictors of postpartum Hb. Pre-pregnancy body mass index had a slight positive relationship with gestational Hb, but had a strong negative relationship with postpartum Hb. The longitudinal model also confirmed the typical pattern of gestational Hb concentration. As the number of weeks between the initial visit and the 24- to 29-week visit increased, Hb at 24–29 weeks' gestation decreased. As gestational age increased from 24 weeks until delivery, Hb concentration increased as well.
Conclusions:
The predictors identified here could be used in clinical settings to target high–risk women for intervention.
Methods currently used to assess nutritional status during pregnancy have limitations if one wishes to examine the overall quality of the diet. A Diet Quality Index for Pregnancy (DQI-P) was developed to reflect current nutritional recommendations for pregnancy and national dietary guidelines.
Design:
Dietary intake was assessed during the second trimester using a food-frequency questionnaire. The DQI-P includes eight components: % recommended servings of grains, vegetables and fruits, % recommendations for folate, iron and calcium, % energy from fat, and meal/snack patterning score. Scores can range from 0 to 80; each component contributed 10 points.
Setting:
Two public prenatal clinics in central North Carolina.
Subjects:
N = 2063 pregnant women who participated in the Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition (PIN) Study.
Results:
The DQI-P quantitatively differentiated diets. The mean score for the population was 56.0 (standard deviation 12.0). Women who were <30 years old, <350% of poverty, nulliparous and high school graduates had significantly higher overall DQI-P scores. Higher percentages of recommended vegetable servings were consumed by higher-income, older and better-educated women. Greater percentages of recommended intakes of folate and iron were seen among black, low-income and nulliparous women. Higher iron intakes were also seen among women who graduated high school and were less than 30 years old. Other differences were observed for intake of fat and meal/snack pattern. Because this index was based on national recommendations, the DQI-P may be a useful tool for research and public health settings to evaluating overall diet quality of pregnant women.
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