St. Louis, MO, May 3, 2010 Living in a food-insecure household during pregnancy may increase the odds of greater weight gain and pregnancy complications, particularly gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), according to a new study published in the May issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Household food insecurity, the inability to obtain nutritious and safe foods in socially acceptable ways, is increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for many poor health outcomes among women.
Prior studies have demonstrated that paradoxically, women living in food insecure households report higher rates of overweight and related health complications. "The present study was conducted to estimate the association between household food insecurity status and maternal health during pregnancy, when changes in both body weight and overall health can be dramatic," according to Barbara A. Laraia, PhD, MPH, RD, and co-investigators. "The results suggest that the experience of living in a food insecure household was associated with metabolic health indicators during pregnancy. Not only was living in a food insecure household associated with severe pregravid obesitya condition that broadly predisposes women to adverse pregnancy outcomesbut also with greater gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes mellitus."
Researchers from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service, Washington, DC, used data from the Pregnancy, Infection and Nutrition prospective cohort study810 pregnant women with incomes less than 400% of the income/poverty ratio were followed through their pregnancies. This household income restriction allowed better comparison among households that might have food insecurity due to financial and material constraints. In this group, 76% were from fully food secure, 14% were from marginally food secure, and 10% were from food insecure households.
| Contact: Lynelle Korte jadamedia@elsevier.com 314-447-9227 Elsevier Health Sciences Source:Eurekalert |