Food patterns and dietary quality associated with organic food consumption during pregnancy; data from a large cohort of pregnant women in Norway.

Hanne Torjusen,Margaretha Haugen,Anne Lise Brantsæter,Geir Lieblein,Tormod Næs,Helle Margrete Meltzer

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-612

Abstract

BackgroundLittle is known about the consumption of organic food during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to describe dietary characteristics associated with frequent consumption of organic food among pregnant women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).MethodsThe present study includes 63 808 women who during the years 2002–2007 answered two questionnaires, a general health questionnaire at gestational weeks 15 and a food frequency questionnaire at weeks 17-22. The exploration of food patterns by Principal component analyses (PCA) was followed by ANOVA analyses investigating how these food patterns as well as intake of selected food groups were associated with consumption of organic food.ResultsThe first principal component (PC1) identified by PCA, accounting for 12% of the variation, was interpreted as a ‘health and sustainability component’, with high positive loadings for vegetables, fruit and berries, cooking oil, whole grain bread and cereal products and negative loadings for meat, including processed meat, white bread, and cakes and sweets. Frequent consumption of organic food, which was reported among 9.1% of participants (n = 5786), was associated with increased scores on the ‘health and sustainability component’ (p < 0.001). The increase in score represented approximately 1/10 of the total variation and was independent of sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Participants with frequent consumption of organic food had a diet with higher density of fiber and most nutrients such as folate, beta-carotene and vitamin C, and lower density of sodium compared to participants with no or low organic consumption.ConclusionThe present study showed that pregnant Norwegian women reporting frequent consumption of organically produced food had dietary pattern and quality more in line with public advice for healthy and sustainable diets. A methodological implication is that the overall diet needs to be included in future studies of potential health outcomes related to consumption of organic food during pregnancy.

Highlights

Little is known about the consumption of organic food during pregnancy
Since there is a considerable overlap between dietary recommendations aiming for good health and those aiming for environmental sustainability [17], it is possible to theorize that the choice of organic food for both of these reasons may be accompanied by dietary patterns more in line with health recommendations
The main finding of this study was that frequent consumption of organic food among the pregnant women in the MoBa study was strongly associated with higher scores on the ‘health and sustainability component’ (PC1), i.e. a diet characterized by more vegetables, fruit and berries, and whole grain cereal products and less meat, including processed meat, white bread, refined cereal products, cakes and sweets, compared with participants with no or low consumption of organic food

Summary

Introduction

Little is known about the consumption of organic food during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to describe dietary characteristics associated with frequent consumption of organic food among pregnant women participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). In studies from Great Britain, Denmark and Norway, Denver et al [12], Holt [13] and Torjusen et al [14] have found associations between the choice of organically produced food and dietary patterns high in fruit and vegetables and low in meat compared to intake levels among consumers who did not buy organic food. It is known from a number of studies that health is a main motivation for choosing organic foods, together with ethical and environmental considerations [15,16]. Since there is a considerable overlap between dietary recommendations aiming for good health and those aiming for environmental sustainability [17], it is possible to theorize that the choice of organic food for both of these reasons may be accompanied by dietary patterns more in line with health recommendations

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