The prevalence of obesity in pregnancy is increasing and is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes( 1 ). This study examined the nutritional composition of diets of pregnant women in Belfast in the 3rd trimester in relation to maternal anthropometry. Pregnant women were participants in the Hyperglycaemic and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Study( 2 ) a prospective observational study which examined the relevance of minor degrees of maternal glycaemia to maternal fetal outcome. Diet was assessed using a validated self-administered food frequency questionnaire at an average of 29 weeks gestation. Mean daily nutrient intakes were analysed using nutritional software Q Builder Questionnaire Analysis System version 2.0 (Tinuviel Software, UK). Dietary intake data was available for 1639 women (97.7% of cohort). At approximately 28 weeks gestation, 415 (25.3%) participants were classed as overweight with BMI ≥28.5–32.9 kg/m2) and 235 (14.3%) as obese with BMI>33.0 kg/m2 ( 2 ). A Goldberg EI:BMR( Reference Goldberg, Black and Jebb 3 ) cut-off of 1.2 was used to assess the extent of under-reporting within the dataset and 768 (46.9%) participants with EI:BMR<1.2 were excluded from final analysis. A one-way ANOVA investigated differences in mean plasma glucose levels assessed at Oral Glucose Tolerance Test and mean daily macronutrient intakes between BMI categories. All measures of glycaemic control were significantly higher in overweight and obese pregnant women compared with normal weight women (Table 1). However, no significant differences in nutrient intakes between BMI categories were observed except mean sugar intake was significantly lower in overweight women compared with normal weight women (Table 2).
* Significantly different at P<0.05 level when compared to women with BMI within normal range
* Significantly different at P<0.05 level when compared to women with BMI within normal range.
Results indicate that plasma glucose levels are significantly higher in overweight and obese pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy, however there are no differences in nutrient intakes between women and BMI categories.
