Dietary fibre intake of pregnant women attending general practices in southern Brazil – The ECCAGE Study

Abstract

Background: Increase in fibre intake during pregnancy may reduce weight gain, glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia, pre-eclampsia and constipation. Few studies have evaluated adequacy of fibre intake during pregnancy. Objective: To assess, through an FFQ, the dietary fibre intake of pregnant women receiving prenatal care from general public practices and compare it with current guidelines. Design and setting: Cross-sectional analyses of a pregnancy cohort study (ECC-AGE -Study of Food Intake and Eating Behaviour in Pregnancy) conducted in eighteen general practices in southern Brazil, from June 2006 to April 2007. Subjects: Five hundred and seventy-eight pregnant women with mean (SD) age of 24?9 (6?5) years and mean gestational age of 24?5 (5?8) weeks. Results: The mean energy intake was 11 615 kJ/d (2776 kcal/d). The mean total fibre intake (30?2 g/d) was slightly above the recommended value of 28 g/d (P , 0?001), yet 50 % (95 % CI 46, 54) of the women failed to meet the recommendation. Whole-grain fibre constituted only 1 % of total fibre intake in the cereal group. In adjusted Poisson regression analyses, not meeting the recommendation for fibre intake was associated with alcohol intake (prevalence ratio 1?29; 95 % CI 1?11, 1?50) and absence of nutritional guidance (prevalence ratio 1?22; 95 % CI 1?05, 1?42) during pregnancy. Conclusions: About half of the pregnant women failed to meet the recommended fibre intake, especially those not reporting nutritional guidance during pregnancy. For most women, whole-grain cereal intake was absent or trivial. Taken together, our data indicate the need, at least in this setting, for greater nutritional education in prenatal care.

Consumo dietético de gestantes e ganho ponderal materno após aconselhamento nutricional

“…Este aspecto reflete, em parte, os hábitos de grande parte da população urbana brasileira com baixa ingestão de alimentos fonte de fibras, como frutas, legumes e verduras. Buss et al (2008) 29 , observaram, em gestantes, consumo médio de fibras de 30,2 g/d, porém 50,2% da amostra não atinge a recomendação.…”

Dietary patterns during pregnancy and the association with sociodemographic characteristics among women attending general practices in southern Brazil: the ECCAGe Study

“…The ECCAGE (Study of Food Intake and Eating Behavior during Pregnancy) is a cohort study 28,29,30,31,32 of 780 pregnant women based on data collected between June 2006 and February 2007. A total of 59 women (7.5%) refused to participate and nine (1.1%) interrupted the interview before completion, resulting in a final sample of 712 women (91.3%).…”

Agreement of dietary fiber and calorie intake values according to the choice of nutrient composition and household measure tables

“…They were evaluated during pregnancy and in the postpartum period up to the fifth month [9]. In order to estimate food intake during pregnancy [13] and during the postpartum period [14], a previously validated [15] Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used in the present study.…”

“…The food list is composed of 88 items, and each one has a standard portion size expressed in traditional household measures or food units for the evaluation of the amount of food consumed. In order to obtain an estimate of daily food consumption, the food-frequency estimates were converted into a value equivalent to daily consumption [13].…”

“…In the M1, the nutritional composition was evaluated using the Food Composition Table -Suporte para Decisão Nutricional (Support to Nutritional Decision) [16]; the Estudo Nacional de Despesas Familiares (ENDEF, Brazilian Household Expenditure Survey) [17] was used to estimate the portion size in grams or milliliters, expressed in household measures in the FFQ. Buss et al [13] and Giacomello et al [15] [18]. After the release of the TACO, all analyses related to food consumption in the ECCAGe were carried out using this table [14,19].…”