Adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Recommendations Pre- and During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women in Arab Countries

Maha Hoteit^{1

2

3}, Reem Hoteit⁴, Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh⁵, Mariane Abou Nasr¹, Sara Obeid¹, Chadi Fakih⁶, Mohamad El Hajj¹, Radwan Qasrawi^{7

8}, Rania Abu Seir⁹, Sabika Allehdan¹⁰, Mahmoud Samy Ismail^{11

12}, Khlood Bookari¹³, Jamila Arrish¹⁴, Nahla Al-Bayyari¹⁵, Reema Tayyem¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
² PHENOL Research Group Public Health Nutrition Program-Lebanon, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
³ Lebanese University Nutrition Surveillance Center (LUNSC), Lebanese Food Drugs and Chemical Administrations, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁴ Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Al Hadi Laboratory and IVF Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁷ Department of Computer Science, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine.
⁸ Department of Computer Engineering, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁹ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine.
¹⁰ Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Bahrain.
¹¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Hamad University Hospital, Busaiteen, Bahrain.
¹² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
¹³ Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ National Nutrition Committee (NNC), Saudi Food and Drug Authority (Saudi FDA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan.
¹⁶ Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.

PMID: 35369076
PMCID: PMC8970272
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.824305

Adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Recommendations Pre- and During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women in Arab Countries

Maha Hoteit et al. Front Nutr. 2022.

. 2022 Mar 17:9:824305.

doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.824305. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
² PHENOL Research Group Public Health Nutrition Program-Lebanon, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
³ Lebanese University Nutrition Surveillance Center (LUNSC), Lebanese Food Drugs and Chemical Administrations, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁴ Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁵ World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt.
⁶ Al Hadi Laboratory and IVF Center, Beirut, Lebanon.
⁷ Department of Computer Science, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine.
⁸ Department of Computer Engineering, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁹ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine.
¹⁰ Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Bahrain.
¹¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Hamad University Hospital, Busaiteen, Bahrain.
¹² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
¹³ Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ National Nutrition Committee (NNC), Saudi Food and Drug Authority (Saudi FDA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan.
¹⁶ Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.

PMID: 35369076
PMCID: PMC8970272
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.824305

Abstract

During pregnancy, woman's diet is one of the most preeminent factors affecting mother and child's health. Prior to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, inadequate maternal diet and low adherence to dietary guidelines was reported among pregnant women in the Arab countries. Nowadays, COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is widely discussed among literature. However, there is limited data on the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-infected pregnant women. This substantially larger group also suffered significant lifestyle changes during the lockdown period. The aim of the study is to characterize dietary patterns, intake and adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pregnancy guidelines before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arab pregnant women. Using a specially designed questionnaire and using the snowball sampling method, the survey was carried out among a convenient sample of 1,939 pregnant women from five Arab countries. Our study found an increment in the consumption of cereals, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, and nuts that occurred during the pandemic compared to the preceding period. Despite this noticeable increase during the pandemic, the Arab pregnant women in this study had significantly lower adherence to the USDA pregnancy guidelines. The daily consumption of almost all food groups was lower than the USDA's daily recommendations, except for fruits intake, which was higher than the daily standard. Demonstrated poor adherence to prenatal USDA dietary guidelines by Arab pregnant women can lead to numerous deficiencies and health risks among their offspring. In conclusion, our study showed that before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, poor adherence to dietary recommendations occurred in a considerable number of Arab pregnant women. The findings emphasize the need for nutritional education and intervention during prenatal visits.

Keywords: COVID-19; USDA recommendations; adherence; maternal nutrition; pregnant women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Recommendations Pre- and During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women in Arab Countries

Affiliations

Adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Recommendations Pre- and During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women in Arab Countries

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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