| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION |
1 From the US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston.
Background: Energy requirements during pregnancy remain controversial because of uncertainties regarding maternal fat deposition and reductions in physical activity.
Objective: This study was designed to estimate the energy requirements of healthy underweight, normal-weight, and overweight pregnant women and to explore energetic adaptations to pregnancy.
Design: The energy requirements of 63 women [17 with a low body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2), 34 with a normal BMI, and 12 with a high BMI] were estimated at 0, 9, 22, and 36 wk of pregnancy and at 27 wk postpartum. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) was measured by calorimetry, total energy expenditure (TEE) by doubly labeled water, and activity energy expenditure (AEE) as TEE – BMR. Energy deposition was calculated from changes in body protein and fat. Energy requirements equaled the sum of TEE and energy deposition.
Results: BMR increased gradually throughout pregnancy at a mean (±SD) rate of 10.7 ± 5.4 kcal/gestational week, whereas TEE increased by 5.2 ± 12.8 kcal/gestational week, which indicated a slight decrease in AEE. Energy costs of pregnancy depended on BMI group. Although total protein deposition did not differ significantly by BMI group (mean for the 3 groups: 611 g protein), FM deposition did (5.3, 4.6, and 8.4 kg FM in the low-, normal-, and high-BMI groups; P = 0.02). Thus, energy costs differed significantly by BMI group (P = 0.02). In the normal-BMI group, energy requirements increased negligibly in the first trimester, by 350 kcal/d in the second trimester, and by 500 kcal/d in the third trimester.
Conclusion: Extra energy intake is required by healthy pregnant women to support adequate gestational weight gain and increases in BMR, which are not totally offset by reductions in AEE.
Key Words: Pregnancy • energy requirements • total energy expenditure • basal metabolic rate • activity • body composition
Related articles in AJCN:
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  E. Villamor, P. Sparen, and S. Cnattingius Risk of Oral Clefts in Relation to Prepregnancy Weight Change and Interpregnancy Interval Am. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2008; 167(11): 1305 - 1311. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Arumugam, D. Fleenor, and M. Freemark Lactogenic and Somatogenic Hormones Regulate the Expression of Neuropeptide Y and Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript in Rat Insulinoma (INS-1) Cells: Interactions with Glucose and Glucocorticoids Endocrinology, January 1, 2007; 148(1): 258 - 267. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Lof, H. Olausson, K. Bostrom, B. Janerot-Sjoberg, A. Sohlstrom, and E. Forsum Changes in basal metabolic rate during pregnancy in relation to changes in body weight and composition, cardiac output, insulin-like growth factor I, and thyroid hormones and in relation to fetal growth Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, March 1, 2005; 81(3): 678 - 685. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Forsum Energy requirements during pregnancy: old questions and new findings Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 2004; 79(6): 933 - 934. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
