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Dietary patterns and their associations with postpartum weight retention: results of the MINA cohort study

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the association of prepregnancy dietary patterns with postpartum weight retention at 6 months (PPWR6) among Lebanese and Qatari women.

Methods

Data for this study were derived from the Mother and Infant Nutrition Assessment (MINA) prospective cohort study conducted in Lebanon and Qatar. Pregnant women were recruited during their first trimester and were followed up for three years. For the purpose of this study, data belonging to sociodemographic characteristics of participants, prepregnancy dietary intake, prepregnancy BMI as well as weight retention at 6 months were used. Dietary intake was examined using a 98-item food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used for the derivation of dietary patterns. The associations of dietary patterns with PPWR6 were examined using simple and multiple linear regressions.

Results

Data was available for 177 participants (Lebanon: 93; Qatar: 84). Mean PPWR6 was 4.05 ± 5.29 kg. Significantly higher PPWR6 was observed among participants with pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity and among those with excessive gestational weight gain. Two dietary patterns were identified: the “Western” and the “Varied” patterns. After adjustment for confounders, a positive association was observed between the ‘Western’ pattern scores and PPWR6 (ß = 1.27; 95% CI 0.68–1.86; p value: < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Higher adherence to the Western pattern was associated with higher PPWR6 amongst women, hence underscoring the importance of public health interventions aimed at fostering healthier dietary habits during this crucial stage of the lifecycle.

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Data availability

Data available upon request from the authors.

Abbreviations

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

EMR:

Eastern Mediterranean Region

FFQ:

Food frequency questionnaire

GDM:

Gestational diabetes mellitus

GWG:

Gestational weight gain

MINA:

Mother and infant nutrition assessment

NCDs:

Non-communicable diseases

PPWR6 :

Postpartum weight retention at six months

SD:

Standard deviation

SE:

Standard error

T2D:

Type 2 diabetes

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the MINA collaborators including Dr. Nahla Hwalla, Dr. Ghina Ghazeeri, Dr. Anwar Nassar, Dr. Khalid Yunis, Dr. Saadeddine Itani, Dr. Al Anoud Al Thani, Dr. Zelaikha Bashwar, Dr. Hiba Bawadi. In addition, the authors recognize the contribution of the field workers including Ms. Aya Chatila, Ms. Chirine Assi, Ms. Sarah Batakji, Mrs Zeina Mogharbel, Ms. Sara Elfasakhany, and Dr. Zeinab Mahdi. The authors would like to thank the study participants for their time and commitment.

Funding

This research was funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) under the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP 6-247-3-061).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (RIMHS), College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Farah Naja

  2. Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar

    Mariam Abdulmalik

  3. Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    Jennifer Ayoub & Lara Nasreddine

  4. Public Health Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar

    Amira Mahmoud

Authors
  1. Farah Naja
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  2. Mariam Abdulmalik
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  3. Jennifer Ayoub
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  4. Amira Mahmoud
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  5. Lara Nasreddine
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Consortia

MINA Collaborators

  • Nahla Hwalla
  • ,  Ghina Ghazeeri
  • ,  Anwar Nassar
  • ,  Khalid Yunis
  • ,  Saadeddine Itani
  • ,  Al Anoud Al Thani
  • ,  Zelaikha Bashwar
  • ,  Hiba Bawadi
  • ,  Aya Chatila
  • ,  Chirine Assi
  • ,  Sarah Batakji
  • ,  Zeina Mogharbel
  • ,  Sara Elfasakhany
  •  &  Zeinab Mahdi

Contributions

Conceptualization: MA, LN and FN; Methodology: JA, LN and FN; Formal Analysis: JA and FN; Investigation: MA, JA, AM and LN; Data Curation: MA, JA and AM; Writing—Original Draft Preparation: MA, JA, LN and FN; Writing—Review and Editing: LN and FN; Supervision: MA, LN and FN; Project Administration: JA and AM; Funding Acquisition: FN. All authors have read and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lara Nasreddine.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Ethical approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon (NUT.FN.12) and the Primary Health Care Corporation in Qatar (PHCC/ RC/15/04/006).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants.

Additional information

The complete membership of the MINA collaborators is found in the Acknowledgments.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

See Table 

Table 5 Food groupings and corresponding food items used in factor analysis
Full size table

5.

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Naja, F., Abdulmalik, M., Ayoub, J. et al. Dietary patterns and their associations with postpartum weight retention: results of the MINA cohort study. Eur J Nutr 63, 809–820 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-023-03305-7

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