The impact a Mediterranean diet in the third trimester of pregnancy has on neonatal body fat percentage

Abstract

Maternal diet during pregnancy has long been recognised as an important determinant of neonatal outcomes and child development. Infant body composition is a potentially modifiable risk factor for predicting future health and metabolic disease. Utilising the Mediterranean Diet Score, this study focused on how different levels of Mediterranean Diet adherence (MDA) in pregnancy influence body fat percentage of the infant. Information on 458 pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy and their infants was obtained from The ORIGINS Project. The data included MDA score, body composition measurements using infant air displacement plethysmography (PEA POD), pregnancy, and birth information. Infants born to mothers with high MDA had a body fat percentage of 11.3 %, whereas infants born to mothers with low MDA had a higher body fat percentage of 13.3% (p = 0.010). When adjusted for pre-pregnancy body mass index and infant sex, a significant result remained between high vs. low MDA and infant fat mass (FM) (2.5 % less FM p = 0.016). This study suggests that high MDA in pregnancy was associated with a reduced body fat percentage in the newborn. Future studies are needed to understand whether small but significant changes in FM persist throughout childhood.

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

1-1-2022

Volume

13

Issue

4

PubMed ID

34658323

Publication Title

Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

RAS ID

45372

Funders

WA Sceptics Society / Telethon Perth Children’s Hospital Research Fund / Joondalup Health Campus / Paul Ramsay Foundation / Commonwealth Government of Australia through the Channel 7 Telethon Trust

Comments

Ashwin, D., Gibson, L., Hagemann, E., D’Vaz, N., Bear, N., & Silva, D. (2022). The impact a Mediterranean diet in the third trimester of pregnancy has on neonatal body fat percentage. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 13(4), 500-507. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174421000556

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subscription content

First Page

500

Last Page

507

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1017/S2040174421000556