Adherence to Dietary Guidelines among Women with and without Gestational Diabetes: Evidence from the Growing up in New Zealand Study

Nutrients. 2022 May 21;14(10):2145. doi: 10.3390/nu14102145.

Abstract

Diet is thought to play a role in the development and management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Dietary guidelines provide practical recommendations for achieving nutrient requirements and mitigating the risk of chronic disease. The aim of this study was to describe the adherence to dietary guidelines by women with and without GDM and determine whether adherence is associated with the development of GDM. Adherence to Ministry of Health food group recommendations was assessed in 5391 pregnant women participating in the Growing Up in New Zealand study. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered during pregnancy provided dietary data. The presence of GDM was determined using diagnostic coding in clinical data and blood glucose results. A quarter of women did not meet any food group recommendations. There were no significant differences in the number of food group targets met by women with or those without GDM. Meeting food group recommendations was not associated with odds of having GDM in adjusted analyses. This study found adherence to dietary recommendations is poor in both women with and without GDM and no association between adherence to food group recommendations and the development of GDM. Greater support is required to assist women to achieve food and nutrition recommendations.

Keywords: diet; dietary guidelines; gestational diabetes; pregnancy.

MeSH terms

  • Diabetes, Gestational* / epidemiology
  • Diet
  • Female
  • Food
  • Humans
  • New Zealand / epidemiology
  • Nutrition Policy
  • Pregnancy

Grants and funding

No external funding was received for this research. Data were used from the Growing Up in New Zealand study, which was funded by New Zealand Ministries of Social Development, Health, Education, Justice, and Pacific Island Affairs; the former Ministry of Science Innovation and the former Department of Labour (now both part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment); the former Ministry of Women’s Affairs (now the Ministry for Women); the Department of Corrections; the Families Commission (now known as the Social Policy Evaluation and Research Unit); Te Puni Kōkiri; New Zealand Police; Sport New Zealand; the Housing New Zealand Corporation; the former Mental Health Commission; The University of Auckland; Auckland UniServices Limited. Other support for the Growing Up in New Zealand study has been provided by the NZ Health Research Council, Statistics New Zealand, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Office of Ethnic Affairs. These funding bodies did not have any role in study design, data collection, analyses, interpretation of data, or in the writing of this manuscript.