Association of weight status and carbohydrate intake with gestational weight gain

Abstract

Test the hypothesis that women with obesity have greater gestation weight gain (GWG) with a moderately higher, vs lower, carbohydrate (CHO) diet, independent of energy intake, whereas GWG for women of normal weight would not differ by CHO group. This was a secondary analysis of data collected from glucose tolerant women with normal weight (NW) or obesity in pregnancy. Women completed a three-day food diary 16 to 20 weeks. A median split for percent kilocalories from CHO (median = 49.6%) categorized women into moderately highCHO vs lowCHO groups (n = 13-15/group). GWG was calculated between consent and the last prenatal care visit. A two-way ANOVA was used to examine whether there was an interaction between weight status and CHO group on GWG, independent of energy intake, time between consent and last prenatal visit, and age. Women in both highCHO groups consumed more sugars and starches compared to women in the lowCHO groups (P < .05). A significant interaction between weight status and CHO content of the diet was found (P < .05), such that, for women with obesity, those consuming a lowCHO diet had less GWG than those consuming a highCHO diet, whereas the pattern was opposite for women with NW. Results suggest that intake of a moderately lower CHO diet may help limit GWG among glucose tolerant women with obesity.Given that women in this study were eligible only if they had normal fasting glucose concentrations in early pregnancy, it is not clear if these results would generalize to all women with obesity during pregnancy.

Dietitian-led cluster randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness of mHealth education on health outcomes among pregnant women: a protocol paper

“…23 Additionally, there is well-proven evidence between insufficient weight increase and perinatal death. 24 25 Determinants contributing to GWG are multifactorial, which include prenatal knowledge, 26 27 dietary intake, [28][29][30] physical activity level, [30][31][32] sleep quality [33][34][35][36][37] and psychosocial well-being. [38][39][40][41] However, evidence had been inconclusive on the factors influencing the GWG.…”

“…Determinants contributing to GWG are multifactorial, which include prenatal knowledge,26 27 dietary intake,28–30 physical activity level,30–32 sleep quality33–37 and psychosocial well-being 38–41. However, evidence had been inconclusive on the factors influencing the GWG 37 42–46.…”

The Relationship of Diet and Physical Activity with Weight Gain and Weight Gain Prevention in Women of Reproductive Age

“…With regard to carbohydrate, women with high carbohydrate intake (430–629 g/day) during the second trimester had greater GWG (2.3 kg; 95% CI 0.43, 4.08) [ 122 ] than women with low carbohydrate intake (229–429 g/day). A recent study reported that consumption of lower carbohydrate diet (% kcal < 49.6%) was associated with less GWG in women with obesity compared to a higher carbohydrate diet (% kcal > 49.6%) (7.9 vs. 13.1 kg), but an opposite pattern was reported in women with normal weight (16.6 vs. 12.9 kg) [ 123 ]. Conversely, carbohydrate intake at 27 weeks of gestation was associated with reduced GWG in all BMI groups [ 120 ], supported by a systematic review of observational studies [ 101 ].…”