Food Intake Characteristics during Early Pregnancy in Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

To investigate the characteristic food intake during early pregnancy in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a rural city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, one hundred and twenty-one women were recruited and queried about their habitual dietary intake. Food intake of patients was assessed using the model nutritional balance chart at 12 - 16, 24 - 28, and 34 - 36 weeks of gestation. Of the 121 pregnant women examined, 19 were obese. During early pregnancy, food intake ratios of the obese women were significantly lower than those of the non-obese women for the categories of milk (p < 0.001) and sugar (p < 0.05). GDM group was 7 women among 19 women in obesity group during mid-pregnancy. During early pregnancy, women with GDM had significantly higher sugar intake ratios than women without GDM (p < 0.05). These results suggested that obese pregnant women are able to prevent GDM by limiting their sugar intake during early pregnancy.