The association of dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load with gestational weight gain and newborn birth weight

Abstract

Diet during pregnancy is related to several maternal and infant health outcomes; however, the relationship between maternal dietary glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) and gestational weight gain (GWG) or newborn birth weight is controversial. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between maternal dietary GI and GL and GWG and birth weight. A cohort of adult pregnant women with usual obstetric risk was followed in Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Two 24-h dietary recalls were collected in each gestational trimester (<14, 24-27, 31-34 weeks), one in person and the other by telephone. GI and GL were determined using the software Nutrition Data System for Research. GWG was obtained from medical records and evaluated as the weekly GWG between the second and third gestational trimesters. Newborn birth weight z-score in relation to gestational age was evaluated according to Intergrowth-21st Project recommendations. A multiple linear regression model, adjusted for potential confounders, showed a one-point increase in the GI resulted in a mean decrease of 12·9 (95 % CI -21·48, -4·24) g in weekly GWG; GL was not associated with this outcome. The birth weight z-score was not associated with GI (P = 0·763) or GL (P = 0·317). In conclusion, in a cohort of pregnant women considered at usual risk for obstetric complications, maternal dietary GI was negatively associated with weekly GWG in the second and third gestational trimesters. No association was observed between GL and GWG, and neither GI nor GL was associated with birth weight z-score.