Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, P.O. Box 9010, Nijmegen 6500 GL, the Netherlands.
Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, P.O. Box 9010, Nijmegen 6500 GL, the Netherlands; Department of Social Development, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9104, Nijmegen 6500 HE, the Netherlands.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2024 Aug;166:107073. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107073. Epub 2024 May 9.
Diet quality during pregnancy is important for maternal health and offspring development. However, national dietary recommendations are not always met. A potential barrier for healthy food choices might be the experience of stress. Previous literature in non-pregnant populations suggests a negative effect of acute stress on diet quality. This preregistered study is the first to test whether an acute stressor leads to unhealthy food choices in pregnancy and examine the moderating role of stress, depressive and anxiety complaints in daily life.
Pregnant women (N = 110, 3rd trimester) completed online self-reported surveys measuring stress, depressive and anxiety complaints in daily life. Hereafter, participants were invited for a laboratory visit, in which they were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test or a control task. After this manipulation, self-reported and actual food choices and food intake were assessed. At the end of the visit, a hair sample was collected. Throughout the visit, visual analogue scales on negative affect were completed and saliva samples were collected.
The stress group experienced significantly more psychological stress than the control group during the experimental manipulation. Main regression analyses showed that the acute laboratory stressor did not cause unhealthy food choices in the third trimester of pregnancy. In fact, the stress group chose fewer unhealthy foods and consumed fewer kilocalories compared to the control group. Additionally, the findings point at a moderating role of depressive and stress complaints in daily life on food choices within the control group: higher scores were related to more unhealthy food choices and more kilocalories consumed.
As this was the first study to test the effect of an acute stressor on food choices in pregnant women, more research is needed to obtain a better understanding of stress-related eating in pregnancy. This knowledge may inform future interventions to support pregnant women in improving their diet quality.
孕期饮食质量对母婴健康和后代发育都很重要。然而，并非所有人都遵循国家的饮食建议。健康食物选择的一个潜在障碍可能是压力体验。非孕妇群体的先前文献表明，急性压力对饮食质量有负面影响。这项预先注册的研究首次测试了急性应激源是否会导致孕妇选择不健康的食物，并检验了日常生活中压力、抑郁和焦虑的调节作用。
孕妇（N=110，孕晚期）完成了在线自我报告调查，调查了日常生活中的压力、抑郁和焦虑。此后，参与者被邀请参加实验室访问，在此期间，他们接受了特里尔社会应激测试或对照任务。在此操作之后，评估了自我报告和实际的食物选择和食物摄入量。访问结束时，采集了头发样本。在整个访问过程中，完成了负面情绪的视觉模拟量表，并采集了唾液样本。
应激组在实验操作过程中经历了明显更多的心理压力。主要回归分析表明，急性实验室应激源并未导致孕妇在孕晚期选择不健康的食物。事实上，与对照组相比，应激组选择的不健康食物较少，摄入的卡路里也较少。此外，研究结果表明，日常生活中的抑郁和压力抱怨在对照组的食物选择中起到了调节作用：较高的分数与更多的不健康食物选择和更多的卡路里摄入有关。
由于这是第一项测试急性应激源对孕妇食物选择影响的研究，因此需要更多的研究来更好地了解孕期与压力相关的饮食。这些知识可以为未来支持孕妇改善饮食质量的干预措施提供信息。
