Nutrition/Obesity
Postpartum bean consumption and maternal weight outcomes Xiaozhong Wen* Xiaozhong Wen Jeremy Nguyen Fatima Makama Chhime Lama Adobea Addo Jasmine Thai Zhenglin Yuan Todd C. Rideout
Objectives: We assessed the associations between postpartum bean consumption and maternal weight outcomes from a U.S. national cohort.
Methods: We analyzed data from 1,363 U.S. mothers from the Infant Feeding Practices Study II. Mothers were followed throughout their pregnancy and up to 6 years postpartum. At the 3-month follow-up survey, frequency and amount of bean consumption were approximated using a food frequency questionnaire. Mothers reported heights and weights before pregnancy, at 3, 6, 9, 12 months, and 6 years postpartum.
Results: Compared to non-consumers, mothers who consumed dried beans 1+ time per week had a lower risk of overweight/obesity at 3 months (OR=0.46, 95% CI: [0.24-0.88]) and 9 months postpartum (0.45 [0.22-0.92]). For every 1-cup/week increment of dried bean consumption, mothers had a lower risk of overweight/obesity at 3 months postpartum (0.68 [0.47-0.99]). Mothers who consumed chili 2-3 times per month or more had a higher risk of obesity at 12 months postpartum than mothers who consumed chili 1 time per month (2.18 [1.00-4.74]). Every 1-cup/week increment of chili consumption was associated with a higher risk of obesity at 6 months (1.52 [1.01-2.29]) and 9 months postpartum (1.51 [1.04-2.21]). However, mothers who consumed chili 2-3 times per month or more had a lower risk of obesity at 6 years postpartum than non-consumers (0.50 [0.25-0.99]).
Conclusions: High consumption of dried beans postpartum may be linked with a lower risk of overweight or obesity. Consumption of chili postpartum showed mixed results.