Abstract
BackgroundA woman’s food intake during pregnancy has important implications not only for herself but also for the future health and well-being of her child. Suboptimal dietary quality has been consistently reported in many high-income countries, reflecting poor adherence to dietary guidelines.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the intake of food and nutrients in a cohort of pregnant women in Norway and their adherence to Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) and Norwegian food-based guidelines (NFG).DesignWe investigated the dietary intake in 1,674 pregnant women from the mother–child birth cohort, PreventADALL, recruited at approximately 18-week gestational age. Dietary intake was assessed by an electronic validated food frequency questionnaire (PrevFFQ) in the first half of pregnancy.ResultsTotal fat intake was within the recommended intake (RI) range in most women; however, the contribution of saturated fatty acids to the total energy intake was above RI in the majority (85.2%) of women. Carbohydrate intake was below RI in 43.9% of the women, and 69.5% exceeded the RI of salt. Intakes of fiber, vegetables, and fish were high in a large part of the population. Many women had a high probability of inadequate intakes of the following key micronutrients during pregnancy: folate (54.4%), iron (49.6%), calcium (36.2%), vitamin D (28.7%), iodine (24.4%), and selenium (41.3%). A total of 22.8% women reported an alcohol intake of >1 g/day, and 4.4% reported an alcohol intake of >10 g/day. Women with higher educational levels showed a tendency towards healthier eating habits, except for higher intakes of alcohol and coffee, compared to women with lower educational level.DiscussionExcessive saturated fat intake and limited intake of many important micronutrients during pregnancy were common, potentially increasing the risk for adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need for improved nutritional guidance to pregnant women across all educational levels.
Highlights
A woman’s food intake during pregnancy has important implications for herself and for the future health and well-being of her child
This study aimed to explore the intake of food and nutrients in a cohort of pregnant women in Norway and their adherence to Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) and Norwegian food-based guidelines (NFG)
Design: We investigated the dietary intake in 1,674 pregnant women from the mother–child birth cohort, PreventADALL, recruited at approximately 18-week gestational age
Summary
A woman’s food intake during pregnancy has important implications for herself and for the future health and well-being of her child. Objective: This study aimed to explore the intake of food and nutrients in a cohort of pregnant women in Norway and their adherence to Nordic Nutrition Recommendations (NNR) and Norwegian food-based guidelines (NFG). Design: We investigated the dietary intake in 1,674 pregnant women from the mother–child birth cohort, PreventADALL, recruited at approximately 18-week gestational age. Dietary intake was assessed by an electronic validated food frequency questionnaire (PrevFFQ) in the first half of pregnancy. Many women had a high probability of inadequate intakes of the following key micronutrients during pregnancy: folate (54.4%), iron (49.6%), calcium (36.2%), vitamin D (28.7%), iodine (24.4%), and selenium (41.3%). Women with (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license
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