Exploring of Dietary Patterns, and Possible Association with Educational Level, among Jordanian Pregnant Women

Abstract

Evaluating dietary patterns could provide an overall view of food and nutrient which consumed regularly. Better understanding of dietary patterns in pregnant women may be considered an acceptable mean to identify unhealthy dietary practices and the associations with undesirable pregnancy outcomes, which necessitates urgent intervention. This study aimed to determine the dietary pattern followed by Jordanian women during pregnancy in the second and third trimesters and to detect possible association between the dietary patterns and educational level. A total of 286 healthy, pregnant Jordanian women, aged ≥ 18 years with singleton pregnancies, completed the study. Sociodemographic, dietary, and physical activity data were collected using validated questionnaires. Dietary patterns were identified using a Principal Component Analysis. A multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of education level on dietary intake. Three dietary patterns were identified during the entire duration of pregnancy; ‘High-Fat, High-Sugar’, ‘Fruit and Vegetables', and ‘High Protein’ which explained about 32% of the variability of the study sample. Dietary patterns adopted by pregnant women during the second and third trimesters, separately, were able to explain about 40% of the variability during each trimester. Educational level showed associations with dietary patterns, in which ‘Fruit and Vegetables' and ‘Healthy’ patterns were remarkably manifested as the preferred pattern of consumption for the highly educated women during their third trimester. Different dietary patterns have been identified among Jordanian pregnant women throughout their pregnancy trimesters. Higher educational level could influence food choices. Fruit and Vegetables' and ‘Healthy’ patterns were the followed patterns among the highly educated women during their third trimester.