In Japan, almost one-quarter of young women in their 20s are lean, with a body mass index less than\n18.5 kg/m2, and the number of thin pregnant women has also increased. Although the effects of several\nnutrients and foods have been well examined, little is known regarding the current status of foods and\nnutrients intake during pregnancy. The purpose of our pilot study was to investigate the current status\namong nutrients and foods intake during pregnancy, and parity.\nStudy subjects who were recruited 3-4 days after delivery were admitted to three maternity hospitals\nin Miyagi Prefecture in 2009. We analyzed 113 postpartum women. The subjects were divided into\ntwo groups according to the parity: 52 nulliparas and 61 multiparas. The questionnaire contained the\nfollowing information: age, body mass index, gestational weight gain, parity, occupation, smoking habits,\ninfant status (gestational weeks and birth weight) and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire\n(FFQ) inquiring about foods. We examined categorical data using the chi-square test, and compared\ncontinuous variables using Student�s t-test.\nAmong the major macronutrients(carbohydrate, protein and fat), the multiparas group showed\nsignificantly higher fat intake than the nulliparas group. The nulliparas group showed significantly higher\ncarbohydrate intake than the multiparas group.\nAmong food intakes, the multiparas group showed a higher intake of fish and a lower intake of fruits\ncompared with the nulliparas group. Among the proportion of frequency of fish intake in both group,\nless than the nulliparas group had frequency of fish intake than did the multiparas group.\nOur pilot study shows that the diet of Japanese pregnant women is insufficient and far below the\nrecommended levels. Although fish intake is also insufficient, the proportion of fish intake increases with\nincreasing parity. Pregnancy can be an opportune time to improve nutrition and presents an ideal time\nfor promotion of health activities.
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