Dietary Self-Monitoring Related to Appropriate Weight Gain in Pregnancy

• Published in: Current developments in nutrition 2020-06, Vol.4 (Supplement_2), p.1005-1005, Article nzaa054_077
• Main Authors: Horton, Sarah, Herman, Amy, Hull, Holly, Hand, Lauren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Maternal, Perinatal and Pediatric Nutrition
• ISSN: 2475-2991; 2475-2991
• DOI: 10.1093/cdn/nzaa054_077

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between dietary self-monitoring and adherence to gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines in women randomized to a 12-week high fiber (HF) diet (≥30 g/day). These relationships were also evaluated within maternal pre-pregnancy BMI groups. Twenty pregnant women were enrolled, and 12 were randomized and completed the intervention. The intervention group only tracked their daily diet for a total of 82-days. Women met weekly with a registered dietitian via telephone for group lessons on consuming a HF diet. Participants tracked dietary intake with a mobile application (LifeScience Technologies AtHome). For these analyses, a day was considered tracked if any food item was entered. Participants could only see fiber grams; all other nutrition data were hidden. GWG was classified as excessive or not-excessive based on 2009 IOM guidelines. ANOVA was used to detect a difference in days tracked between excessive and not-excessive gainers. Within BMI groups, linear regression determined the relationship between days tracked and GWG and dietary intake. Out of 82 days, women tracked a mean of 68.8 ± 22.8 days. No difference in days tracked was found between excessive (n = 5) and non-excessive (n = 7) weight gainers (57.0 ± 32.4 vs. 77.1 ± 7.2 days, respectively; P = 0.14). The number of days tracked was related to GWG during the intervention (R2 = 0.44; P = 0.03). In overweight/obese women (n = 5), tracking was related to GWG (R2 = 0.92; P = 0.04), however, no relationship was found in normal weight women (n = 7; P = 0.18). The number of days tracked was not related to calorie or fiber intake. Dietary self-monitoring was related to better gestational weight control throughout the 82-day intervention, but not dietary measures. Larger studies are needed to expand these findings and to determine the possible mechanism by which self-monitoring improves gestational weight outcomes. This study was supported by an NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award.