Preconception Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Birth Outcomes in Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background Recommendations for preconception care usually include optimal nutrition and physical activity, but these have not been tested extensively for their relationship with birth outcomes such as low birthweight and preterm birth. Methods Data from Waves I, II and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) contractual dataset were utilized. In Wave I in-home interview, participants were asked to recall their frequency of having five types of food on the previous day, including milk, fruit, vegetables, grains, and sweets. At Wave II, participants reported the previous day's intake of 55 items, and results were categorized into high-calorie sweet, high-calorie non-sweet, and low-calorie food. At Wave I in-home interview, participants were also asked how many times in a week or during the past week they were involved in types of physical activity. At Wave IV, female participants reported pregnancies and birth outcomes. Multivariable linear regression analysis with survey weighting was used to predict birthweight and gestational age. Results There were no associations between reported food intake and birth outcomes. Girls who engaged in more episodes of active behavior had higher birthweights (p<0.01), but hours of sedentary behavior was not associated with birthweight. Multivariable analysis also indicated a u-shaped association between BMI and birthweight (p for quadratic term=0.01). Conclusion Adolescents who are more physically active prior to pregnancy have more positive birth outcomes as represented by birthweight.

Dietary Patterns and Food Behaviours of Pregnant Youth: A Survey in the Polokwane Local Municipality of Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Only 2.4% of the youth reported eating these vegetables every day and 19.5% of the youth never ate them. Xie, et al have also reported low levels of fruit and vegetable intake among pregnant youth in the USA [26].…”

The impact of diet during adolescence on the neonatal health of offspring: evidence on the importance of preconception diet. The HUNT study

“…Direct comparisons of our results with other studies are difficult as there are no precedents. Previous longitudinal cohort studies differed in target population and timing of the exposure and only studied birth weight, birth length, and preterm delivery 25,26 . In a US-based study of adolescent mothers (n = 833), where measures of diet and offspring neonatal outcomes were much closer together in time, no associations were identified between self-reported diet and birth weight and preterm delivery of offspring 25 .…”

“…Previous longitudinal cohort studies differed in target population and timing of the exposure and only studied birth weight, birth length, and preterm delivery 25,26 . In a US-based study of adolescent mothers (n = 833), where measures of diet and offspring neonatal outcomes were much closer together in time, no associations were identified between self-reported diet and birth weight and preterm delivery of offspring 25 . In an Australian cohort of women, lower diet quality 10-15 months before pregnancy (low vegetable and whole-grain intakes) was associated with lower birth weight but not with preterm delivery 27 .…”

Patterns and Correlates of Self-Reported Physical Activity in a Cohort of Racially Diverse Pregnant Adolescents

“…These guidelines recommended that healthy adult pregnant women follow the same guidelines as healthy adults: at least 2.5 hours (150 minutes) per week of moderate aerobic activity, or approximately 21 minutes of brisk walking (or similar activity) each day. 2 PA patterns of pregnant women age 16 and older in the United States have been characterized by Evenson and Wen using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data (n 5 1280). 3 These data showed that most adult pregnant women in this survey failed to meet national PA guidelines.…”