Nutrient Intake During Pregnancy Among Women with BN and BED During Pregnancy

Women with bulimia nervosa (BN) before and during pregnancy and those with binge eating disorder (BED) before pregnancy have dietary patterns that differ from those in women without eating disorders and may influence the outcome of pregnancy. When researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, evaluated data on 30,040 mother-child pairs from the prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, they found that women with BED before and during pregnancy higher intakes of total energy, total fat, monounsaturated and saturated fat, and lower intakes of folate, potassium, and vitamin C than did women without eating disorders.

A subgroup of women who developed binge eating during pregnancy also had higher intakes of total energy and saturated fats than did women in the other groups. Other differences were noted between women with eating disorders and those without, including intake of artificial sweeteners, sweets, juice, fruit, and fats (Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1346).juice, fruit, and fats (Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1346).