Association between 1(st) trimester diet quality & gestational weight gain rate among pregnant women in Dhulikhel, Nepal

BACKGROUND: Despite promising data from high-income countries, the impact of diet quality on gestational weight gain (GWG) has not been investigated in the context of many low-income countries including Nepal. METHODS: We prospectively examined the association between 1(st) trimester diet quality and GWG rate among a cohort of singleton pregnant women (n = 101; age 25.9 ± 4.1 years) from a community-based periurban hospital in Dhulikhel, Nepal. Diet quality was assessed from the adapted Nepali version of the 21-item PrimeScreen questionnaire in the 1(st) trimester. The diet quality score is based on consumption frequency of 21 food group components (score ranging 0–42), categorized as healthy (12 groups) versus unhealthy (9 groups), with higher scores indicative of better overall diet quality. The GWG rate was calculated as the measured weight at early-to-mid 3(rd) trimester (28–35 wks) minus the weight at 2(nd) trimester (13–25 wks), divided by the number of weeks in between. Linear regression estimated the association between diet quality and GWG rate, adjusting for a priori covariates (i.e. age, education, ethnicity, pre-pregnancy BMI, and nausea/vomiting.) RESULTS: The mean GWG rate in mid-to-late pregnancy was 0.46 ± 0.2 kg/wk and the mean diet quality score was 23.6 ± 2.5. Based on pre-pregnancy BMI, 49.4% of women had excessive GWG rate, while nearly equal numbers had either adequate GWG or inadequate GWG rate. There was no significant association between diet quality and GWG rate [adjusted β (95% CI) = -0.02 (-0.05, 0.01); p = 0.14]. The mean GWG rate was marginally higher (0.57 vs. 0.44 kg/wk; p = 0.06) among those with high versus low (2 + servings vs. 0–1 serving/wk) intake of red meat; similar findings were seen when comparing red meat intake between women with excessive versus adequate GWG (Cramer's V = 0.2; p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: While 1(st) trimester diet quality is not related to GWG among Nepali women, a high intake of red meat may be a potential risk factor for excessive GWG in this population.