Mitchell J, Mackerras D
South Western Sydney Area Health Service, Liverpool, NSW.
Aust J Public Health. 1995 Dec;19(6):629-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1995.tb00469.x.
Vietnamese-Australian women have infants with lower birth weight than Australian-born women. Traditional humoral food habits, based on ancient Chinese medicine, are more likely to be followed during life changes like pregnancy. These food habits may influence maternal energy intake, weight gain and therefore infant birth weight. This study determined the proportion of pregnant Vietnamese women in southwestern Sydney who practise traditional humoral food habits, and their effect on birth weight. A cohort of 113 pregnant Vietnamese-born women were questioned on smoking status, height, weight, parity, food practices and demographics. Dietary intake was measured in each trimester. Known risk factors and infant birth weights were collected from medical records for participants and nonresponders. Fifty-seven per cent practised the traditional food habits. There were no differences in energy intake or weight gain between the two groups. After adjusting for confounders, birth weight was estimated to be 3257 g (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 3205 to 3309) and 3272 g (CI 3211 to 3333) for the infants of traditional and nontraditional women respectively. Following humoral food habits does not appear to affect birth weight. Women who choose to follow these traditions should not be discouraged from doing so.
越南裔澳大利亚女性所生婴儿的出生体重低于澳大利亚本土出生的女性。基于中医的传统体液饮食习惯在孕期等生活变化期间更有可能被遵循。这些饮食习惯可能会影响孕妇的能量摄入、体重增加，进而影响婴儿的出生体重。本研究确定了悉尼西南部孕期越南女性中遵循传统体液饮食习惯的比例及其对出生体重的影响。对113名越南出生的孕妇进行了关于吸烟状况、身高、体重、产次、饮食习惯和人口统计学的询问。在每个孕期测量饮食摄入量。从参与者和未参与者的医疗记录中收集已知的风险因素和婴儿出生体重。57%的人遵循传统饮食习惯。两组之间的能量摄入或体重增加没有差异。在对混杂因素进行调整后，遵循传统和非传统饮食习惯女性所生婴儿的出生体重估计分别为3257克（95%置信区间（CI）3205至3309）和3272克（CI 3211至3333）。遵循体液饮食习惯似乎不会影响出生体重。选择遵循这些传统的女性不应因此而受到劝阻。
