Trimester-Specific Assessment of Diet Quality in a Sample of Canadian Pregnant Women

Claudia Savard, Simone Lemieux, Élise Carbonneau, Véronique Provencher, Claudia Gagnon, Julie Robitaille and Anne-Sophie Morisset
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Claudia Savard: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Simone Lemieux: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Élise Carbonneau: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Véronique Provencher: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Claudia Gagnon: Endocrinology and Nephrology Unit, CHU of Québec-Université Laval Research Center, Quebec City, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
Julie Robitaille: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Anne-Sophie Morisset: School of Nutrition, Laval University, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: The present study aimed to (1) examine changes in diet quality throughout pregnancy and (2) identify maternal characteristics associated with trimester-specific diet quality. Pregnant women ( n = 79) were recruited in their 1st trimester of pregnancy and completed, at each trimester, three web-based 24-hour dietary recalls, from which the Canadian Healthy Eating Index (HEI) was calculated. Physical activity, nutrition knowledge, and socio-demographic web-questionnaires were also completed. Although no variation in total HEI scores was observed across trimesters, we found an overall decrease in the following subscores: adequacy, total fruits and vegetables, unsaturated fats and saturated fats ( p < 0.05). In the 1st trimester, overweight and obese pregnant women had a lower diet quality in comparison with normal-weight and underweight women (HEI scores: 63.1 ± 11.9 vs. 68.0 ± 9.3; p = 0.04). In the 3rd trimester, women younger than 28 years old, with no university degree, poorer nutrition knowledge and who reside in an urban setting, had a lower diet quality ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, less educated, younger women who reside in an urban setting may be at a higher risk of poor diet quality in late pregnancy and could benefit from public health programs.

Keywords: diet quality; Healthy Eating Index; pregnancy; prenatal nutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:3:p:311-:d:200367

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