Intake of Sweets, Snacks and Soft Drinks Predicts Weight Gain in Obese Pregnant Women: Detailed Analysis of the Results of a Randomised Controlled Trial

TY - JOUR

T1 - Intake of Sweets, Snacks and Soft Drinks Predicts Weight Gain in Obese Pregnant Women

T2 - Detailed Analysis of the Results of a Randomised Controlled Trial

AU - Renault, Kristina M

AU - Carlsen, Emma M

AU - Nørgaard, Kirsten

AU - Nilas, Lisbeth

AU - Pryds, Ole

AU - Secher, Niels J

AU - Olsen, Sjurdur F

AU - Halldorsson, Thorhallur I

PY - 2015/7/20

Y1 - 2015/7/20

N2 - Background Lifestyle interventions targeting obese pregnant women often result in modest reduction in gestational weight gain, pregnancy complications and related risk factors. Examining adherence to the intervention can, however, provide valuable information on the importance of the different factors targeted. Objective To evaluate improvements and relevance of different dietary factors targeted with respect to gestational weight gain in a 3-arm Randomised Controlled Trial (n=342) among obese pregnant women with BMI> 30 kg/m2. Methods Randomisation 1:1:1 to either hypocaloric Mediterranean type of diet and physical activity intervention (D+PA); physical activity intervention alone (PA); or control (C). Diet was assessed at baseline (weeks 11-14) and endpoint (weeks 36-37) using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results During the intervention women in the D+PA group significantly lowered their intakes of added sugars and saturated fat and increased their protein intake by ~1% of total energy compared to controls. Of these dietary variables only intakes of added sugar appeared to be related to GWG, while no association was observed for saturated fat or protein. Further analyses revealed that foods that contributed to intake of added sugars, including sweets, snacks, cakes, and soft drinks were strongly associated with weight gain, with women consuming sweets > 2/day having 5.4 kg (95% CI 2.1-8.7) greater weight gain than those with a low (<1wk) intake. The results for soft drinks were more conflicting, as women with high weight gain tended to favour artificially sweetened soft drinks. Conclusion In our sample of obese pregnant women, craving for sweets, snacks, and soft drinks strongly predicts GWG. Emphasis on reducing intakes of these foods may be more relevant for limiting gestational weight gain than encouraging strict compliance to more specific diets.

AB - Background Lifestyle interventions targeting obese pregnant women often result in modest reduction in gestational weight gain, pregnancy complications and related risk factors. Examining adherence to the intervention can, however, provide valuable information on the importance of the different factors targeted. Objective To evaluate improvements and relevance of different dietary factors targeted with respect to gestational weight gain in a 3-arm Randomised Controlled Trial (n=342) among obese pregnant women with BMI> 30 kg/m2. Methods Randomisation 1:1:1 to either hypocaloric Mediterranean type of diet and physical activity intervention (D+PA); physical activity intervention alone (PA); or control (C). Diet was assessed at baseline (weeks 11-14) and endpoint (weeks 36-37) using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Results During the intervention women in the D+PA group significantly lowered their intakes of added sugars and saturated fat and increased their protein intake by ~1% of total energy compared to controls. Of these dietary variables only intakes of added sugar appeared to be related to GWG, while no association was observed for saturated fat or protein. Further analyses revealed that foods that contributed to intake of added sugars, including sweets, snacks, cakes, and soft drinks were strongly associated with weight gain, with women consuming sweets > 2/day having 5.4 kg (95% CI 2.1-8.7) greater weight gain than those with a low (<1wk) intake. The results for soft drinks were more conflicting, as women with high weight gain tended to favour artificially sweetened soft drinks. Conclusion In our sample of obese pregnant women, craving for sweets, snacks, and soft drinks strongly predicts GWG. Emphasis on reducing intakes of these foods may be more relevant for limiting gestational weight gain than encouraging strict compliance to more specific diets.

KW - Adult

KW - Body Mass Index

KW - Carbonated Beverages

KW - Diet, Mediterranean

KW - Energy Intake

KW - Exercise

KW - Female

KW - Gestational Age

KW - Humans

KW - Life Style

KW - Obesity

KW - Pregnancy

KW - Snacks

KW - Sweetening Agents

KW - Weight Gain

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0133041

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0133041

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26192183

SN - 1932-6203

VL - 10

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - PLoS Computational Biology

JF - PLoS Computational Biology

IS - 7

M1 - e0133041

ER -