Fewer adverse pregnancy problems with a Mediterranean diet

09 January 2023

According to a new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Nutrition Obesity and Excercise, the Mediterranean diet is linked to fewer adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs), Food Navigator reports.

The study, using data involving more than 10,000 subjects who were followed in the 2010-2013 timeframe, found that the group with a high diet score (which favoured diets with a higher intake of plant-based foods such as vegetables, legumes, and fruits, and monounsaturated fats, coupled with a low intake of saturated fats and processed meats) was 21% less likely to suffer from APOs.

These outcomes include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia or eclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, delivery of a small-for-gestational-age infant, or stillbirth. The researchers also found that those in the highest vs lowest quintile had 35% lower odds of any preeclampsia or eclampsia and 54% lower odds of gestational diabetes.