Do pregnant women eat healthier than non-pregnant women of childbearing age?

Abstract

We aimed to compare the dietary quality and intake of pregnant women, women planning to conceive and women of childbearing age. Fifty-five pregnant women were matched for age and pre-pregnancy body mass index with 55 women planning to conceive and 55 women of childbearing age. Three Web-based 24-h recalls were completed, from which the Canadian Healthy Eating Index was calculated. Pregnant women had greater overall diet quality scores (66.8 ± 10.7, 60.3 ± 14.1 and 61.4 ± 12.8, in pregnant vs. planning to conceive and childbearing age women, p = .009), explained by a higher intake in fruits, vegetables and grain products and lower intake of foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt. Energy intake was significantly higher in pregnant versus planning to conceive women only (2283 ± 518 vs. 2062 ± 430 kcal, p = .03). Diet quality was greater among pregnant women, but diet quality scores were low in all groups, indicating that healthier dietary behaviours should be encouraged for all childbearing age women.

Keywords:

• Pregnancy
• preconception
• prenatal nutrition
• diet quality
• healthy eating index

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the research team who developed the R24W platform in collaboration with Simone Lemieux, Julie Robitaille and Benoît Lamarche: Louise Corneau, R.D., M.Sc., Catherine Laramée, R.D., M.Sc. and Simon Jacques, R.D., M.Sc. We also thank Alain Veilleux, PhD and Jean-Philippe Drouin-Chartier, PhD for their contribution to statistical analyses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The ANGE project is funded by the Danone Institute of Canada (grant number: FO115961) and by start-up funds from the CHU de Québec-UL Research Centre (FRQ-S and the CHU de Québec Foundation). The PREDISE study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; grant number FHG 129921). All funding allowed the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, but played no role in the writing of this manuscript.