Effectiveness of an Intervention of Dietary Counseling for Overweight and Obese Pregnant Women in the Consumption of Sugars and Energy

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate if an intervention based on nutritional counseling decreases total sugars and energy consumption in overweight and obese pregnant women, compared to their previous consumption and compared to women who only received routine counseling. Methods: Randomized study of two groups: dietary counseling (Intervention Group: IG) and routine counseling (Control Group: CG). The intervention consisted of three educational sessions focused on decreasing intake of foods that most contribute to sugars consumption. Changes in sugars and energy consumption were evaluated by a food frequency questionnaire before and after the intervention. Results: We evaluated 433 pregnant women, 272 in IG and 161 in CG, who before intervention had a mean consumption of 140 g total sugars and 2134 kcal energy per day. At the end of the intervention, the IG showed 15 g/day lower consumption of total sugars (95% CI: −25 and −5 g/day), 2% less total energy from sugars (95% CI: −3% and −1% g/day), and 125 kcal/day less energy than the CG (95% CI: −239 and −10 kcal/day). Table sugar, sweets, and soft drinks had the greatest reduction in consumption. Conclusions: The intervention focused on counseling on the decrease in consumption of the foods that most contribute to sugars consumption in overweight and obese pregnant women was effective in decreasing total sugars and energy consumption, mainly in the food groups high in sugars. Future studies should examine if this intervention has an effect on maternal and fetal outcomes.

The Nutritional Behaviour of Pregnant Women in Poland

“…According to the theory of metabolic programming, environmental factors and lifestyle, including diet, during the pregnancy of the mother, among other effects, has an influence on the health and disease risk in the later life of the offspring [6]. Obesity or malnutrition in a future mother is considered to be one of the most important factors determining intrauterine fetal development [7,8]. Elimination diets, which have recently been fashionable among young mothers, may cause nutritional deficiencies, which in turn can lead to complications with the pregnancy.…”

The effects of a combined intervention (docosahexaenoic acid supplementation and home-based dietary counseling) on metabolic control in obese and overweight pregnant women: the MIGHT study

“…29,31 We also revealed in a previous paper that women randomized to the dietary counseling intervention significantly decreased their consumption of sugar and energy. 22 A recent review by Cochrane concluded that lifestyle interventions possibly reduce the risk of GDM, but more high-quality clinical trials are needed. 32…”

“…A validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that comprises 80 food items was completed by the participants to evaluate their energy and sugar intake at the first and the 35 to 37 weeks' visits. 22 Taking advantage of the biological samples (blood and urine) already planned as routine in the PHCC, an additional blood extraction of 20 mL to determine glucose (GOD-PAP commercial kit, Química Clínica Aplicada SA, Amposta, Spain), insulin (radioimmunoassay; sensitivity¼0.5 mIU/mL, intra-assay coefficient of variation¼8.6, inter-assay coefficient of variation¼10.2), and the lipid profile (dry analytical methodology, Vitros, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ) was carried out at the first prenatal visit and at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. CHIMINO allows for collecting additional fasting venous samples along with the routine PHCC blood extractions.…”

Dietary Patterns during Pregnancy and Gestational Weight Gain: A Systematic Review

“…References are included for each study in Table 1 with trial/cohort names or locations when names were unavailable. Six studies were conducted in the U.S. 6,7,9,[11][12][13]16,25 In addition, three studies were conducted in Spain, 1,2,23,26 two each in the U.K., 22,24 Norway, 5,21 and Japan 3,4 ; and one each in Mexico, 18 Italy, 19 Poland, 17 Iceland, 14 Finland, 10 the Netherlands, 8 China, 15 and Malaysia. 20…”

“…2,[6][7][8][9][11][12][13]21,[23][24][25][26] Nine studies did not report race/ethnicity. 1,3,5,10,14,15,[17][18][19] Yong et al 20 reported that 89 percent of the participants were Malay and Tajima et al 4 noted that 100 percent of their participants were Japanese. Zhu et al 16 reported that the participants were predominantly Hispanic (approximately 41.3 percent) and Al Wattar et al 22 noted that the participants were predominantly Asian (approximately 43.7 percent).…”