Dietary habits of pregnant and non‐pregnant adolescents

Abstract

Purpose

Pregnancy is a time of great physiological change. For this reason, the diet of the mother needs to be tailored and carefully managed. For teenagers, the physiologic adjustments are two‐fold; adolescent growth and physiological changes of pregnancy both need to be taken into consideration. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether pregnant teenagers change their diet after conception and which nutritional adjustments are most likely to be made.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 40 closely‐matched Caucasian participants (20 pregnant and 20 non‐pregnant) were recruited from Wythenshawe Hospital, south Manchester and a local high school within the same district. Each participant was asked to complete a background information questionnaire and four‐day food record diary.

Findings

Study findings indicate that the diet of pregnant teenagers are substantially better than that of non‐pregnant adolescents. With the exception of vitamin D, intakes of all nutrients are higher in pregnant adolescents compared to non‐pregnant teenagers (p < 0.05), particularly calcium and iron (p < 0.01). Although under‐reporting must be taken into consideration, the diets of both pregnant and non‐pregnant teenagers appear to be deficient in folate and iron. Nutrition interventions are required to improve the diet of adolescents and reinforce the diet of pregnant teenagers.

Research limitations/implications

Although care is taken to exclude incomplete food diaries, a degree of under‐reporting must be taken into consideration when interpreting these findings.

Originality/value

This appears to be the first UK study to compare the dietary habits of pregnant and non‐pregnant adolescents.

Citation

Derbyshire, E. (2009), "Dietary habits of pregnant and non‐pregnant adolescents", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 5, pp. 490-498. https://doi.org/10.1108/00346650910992141