Researchers Find Low Quality of Diet Among pregnant and Post-Partum Women
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New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst finds a pervasive low-quality diet among pregnant and postpartum individuals, reflecting “an urgent need for widespread improvement.”
The study, recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, assessed diet quality in the same individuals from the beginning of pregnancy through one year postpartum. Researchers used the USDA’s Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which is based on federal dietary guidelines, to develop a diet quality score for participants in the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study (PEAS).
The overall average Healthy Eating Index score for the study participants’ diets was ranked on a 0-100 scale at 61.6. On a traditional A-F scale, the grade would be barely passing, a D, although that score is 10% higher than the average Healthy Eating Index score of the overall U.S. adult population. The Healthy Eating Index score is based on the adequate consumption of nine foods – total fruit, whole fruit, total vegetables, greens and beans, whole grains, dairy, total protein, seafood, plant proteins, as well as fatty acids — and the consumption of four foods in moderation — refined grains, sodium, added sugars and saturated fats.
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