Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the Diet Quality Index (DQI) and the Physical Activity (PA) levels associated with adequacy of gestational weight gain in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). A total of 172 pregnant women with a single fetus and a diagnosis of GDM participated. Food intake was self-reported on the food frequency questionnaire and DQI was quantified using the index validated and revised for Brazil (DQI-R). To assess PA, the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire was administered. Gestational weight gain was classified, following the criteria of the Institute of Medicine, into adequate (AWG), insufficient (IWG), or excessive (EWG) weight gain. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed, with level of significance <0.05. The participants were divided into 3 groups: AWG (33.1%), IWG (27.3%), and EWG (39.5%). The analysis indicated that if the pregnant women PA fell into tertile 1 or 2, then they had a greater chance of having IWG, whereas those with the lowest scores on the DQI-R, whose PA fell into tertile 2, and pregestational obesity women had the greatest chance of having EWG. This study has shown that low PA levels may contribute towards IWG. On the other hand, a low final DQI-R score, representing inadequate food habits, low PA levels, and pregestational obesity may increase the chance of EWG in patients with GDM.
Highlights
Malnutrition and the growing problem of excess weight and obesity in women of reproductive age are associated with several maternal and fetal adverse outcomes
A low score on the Diet Quality Index (DQI)-R, which translates into inadequate food habits, associated with low Physical Activity (PA) scores and a classification of pregestational obesity, may contribute to excessive weight gain (EWG)
The present study has shown that women who do not engage in adequate PAs run a higher risk of insufficient weight gain (IWG) or EWG, leading to the realization that physical inactivity remains a significant public health concern
Summary
Malnutrition and the growing problem of excess weight and obesity in women of reproductive age are associated with several maternal and fetal adverse outcomes. One such complication is gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which, in the long run, is related to a greater postpartum weight retention, complications in a future pregnancy, and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) for the mother [1,2,3,4]. Nutrition during pregnancy plays an important role in adequate weight gain, the management of glycemic control, and fetal and neonatal outcomes.
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