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Hoteit M, Mahfouz R, Sacre Y, Obeid S, Abou Nasr M, El Hajj M, Hanna-Wakim L, Fakih C. Assessment of dietary-lifestyle patterns and adherence to the USDA recommendations in Lebanese pregnant women amid the economic crisis: Findings from a national representative cross-sectional study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301170. [PMID: 38603738 PMCID: PMC11008882 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
As Lebanon's economic crisis become uncontrollable, Lebanese pregnant women face malnutrition, with many having to skip meals and switch to resort to cheap and unhealthy alternatives altogether. The objectives of the study were to assess the dietary and lifestyle patterns of Lebanese pregnant women and to evaluate their diets compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pregnancy recommendations, before and during the Lebanese escalating economic crisis. A cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2021 and January 2022. A validated self-administrated questionnaire was administered during the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy among 363 women in all Lebanese governorates. Most of the pregnant women were free of diseases. While the majority did not smoke, 14.1% smoked hookah / shisha during pregnancy. The adherence to the USDA recommendations in our sample did not significantly vary prior to and throughout the socioeconomic crisis, and it was generally low. Only the mean consumption of vegetables increased during the socioeconomic crisis (p<0.05). Regarding physical activity, while the proportion of active women slightly decreased during the socioeconomic crisis, around 55% were still active. In conclusion, higher attention should be given to the dietary habits and health of this critical population, through effective interventions that increase awareness and achieve measurable improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maha Hoteit
- Food Sciences Unit, National Council For Scientific Research (CNRS-L), Beirut, Lebanon
- PHENOL Research Group (Public Health Nutrition Program Lebanon), Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Rana Mahfouz
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon
| | - Yonna Sacre
- Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon
| | - Sara Obeid
- PHENOL Research Group (Public Health Nutrition Program Lebanon), Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Mariane Abou Nasr
- PHENOL Research Group (Public Health Nutrition Program Lebanon), Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Mohamad El Hajj
- PHENOL Research Group (Public Health Nutrition Program Lebanon), Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Lara Hanna-Wakim
- Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, School of Engineering, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Jounieh, Lebanon
| | - Chadi Fakih
- Al Hadi Laboratory and Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
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Hoteit M, Hoteit R, Al-Jawaldeh A, Abou Nasr M, Obeid S, Fakih C, El Hajj M, Qasrawi R, Abu Seir R, Allehdan S, Ismail MS, Bookari K, Arrish J, Al-Bayyari N, Tayyem R. Adherence to the United States Department of Agriculture Dietary Recommendations Pre- and During the Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic Among Pregnant Women in Arab Countries. Front Nutr 2022; 9:824305. [PMID: 35369076 PMCID: PMC8970272 DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.824305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maha Hoteit
- Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- PHENOL Research Group Public Health Nutrition Program-Lebanon, Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- Lebanese University Nutrition Surveillance Center (LUNSC), Lebanese Food Drugs and Chemical Administrations, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
- *Correspondence: Maha Hoteit,
| | - Reem Hoteit
- Hariri School of Nursing, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Ayoub Al-Jawaldeh
- World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | - Sara Obeid
- Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Chadi Fakih
- Al Hadi Laboratory and IVF Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Mohamad El Hajj
- Faculty of Public Health, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Radwan Qasrawi
- Department of Computer Science, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
- Department of Computer Engineering, Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Rania Abu Seir
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, Palestine
| | - Sabika Allehdan
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Bahrain
| | - Mahmoud Samy Ismail
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Hamad University Hospital, Busaiteen, Bahrain
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
| | - Khlood Bookari
- Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jamila Arrish
- National Nutrition Committee (NNC), Saudi Food and Drug Authority (Saudi FDA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nahla Al-Bayyari
- Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Al-Huson University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, As-Salt, Jordan
| | - Reema Tayyem
- Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
- Reema Tayyem,
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