Motivators and Barriers to Healthy Eating During Pregnancy in Low-Income Women

-


This article, from the most recent issue of JAND (read it here), looked at African-American women utilizing Medicaid and that were eligible for WIC.  The researchers were able to identify 10 themes that were motivators or barriers to healthy eating during pregnancy.  They also found that the definition of “healthy” was not clear in this population.  Educating this population on the facts behind some misconceptions with pregnancy feeding and energy needs, as well as on healthy and affordable foods may improve the diet quality in this group of people.

 
When doing any sort of work out in the community, it’s essential that you know what barrier(s) that the population you are trying to serve has so that you have ways to work around those barriers.  This article caught my eye since it was a qualitative study, which is not done that often with nutrition.  This article is especially important though as it highlights a high risk group of people, i.e. pregnant, low-income, and overweight/obese women, which are present in all cities.  The study also stated that only half of the participants were utilizing WIC services.  The common themes that the researchers found included “healthy mom means a healthy baby,” “food supply fluctuates each month,” “misunderstanding about what defines ‘healthy’,” and “family and friends pressure mothers to eat.”   If all of the mothers were to utilize WIC services, for example, the food supply would be more consistent and these participants would have access to education smoothing out some of these misconceptions on health, diet, and pregnancy.  Overall, the article showed a disconnect between perception and action in terms of nutrition and access to services, things that as future RD’s we can work towards fixing. 

Source:

Reyes, R. R., Klotz, A. A., & Herring, S. J.  (2013).  A qualitative study of motivators and barriers to healthy eating in pregnancy for low-income, overweight, African-American mothers.  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 113 (9): 1175-1181.  Doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2013.05.014


-- C. Pfaff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are All Sugars Created Equal?

-
Image
Are All Sugars Created Equal?  I think one of the most confusing nutrition topics for people is sugar. With so many conflicting stories out there, it’s difficult to separate the facts from the fiction. Not to mention, the types of sugars are endless. How do we know what’s best for our bodies? White or brown sugar? Cane or raw? Should we just go with Stevia instead? Is it even okay to consume artificial sweeteners? Should we avoid foods with high amounts of natural sugar in them? Each answer only seems to lead to another question!  Let’s start off with distinguishing the purpose of sugar in the first place. Do our bodies even need it? The short answer is yes! Sugars are carbohydrates (what we commonly call “carbs”), one of the three main macronutrients that our bodies need for fuel to function and survive. One of the major ways to categorize sugar is by separating the “natural” sugars from the “added” sugars. Natural sugars are, well, naturally found in foods. They give us the energy th
Read more

Milk Mythbusters

-
Image
Just like with any nutrition topic, the facts about milk can become convoluted pretty quickly. Whether you drink milk for the protein, the nutrients, the flavor, or just like to switch it up, there are pros and cons to every kind. Here are some quick nutritional facts about each type to help you decide which is best for you. Animal-Based Milks  Whole Milk: The original diary drink. It gets a bad rap, but what whole milk has going for it, is that it’s in its proper nutritional form. Whole milk contains all of its original fat-soluble vitamins, A, E, D, & K, along with the fat to help you absorb them all. It also has the proper concentrations and ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids, or your omega-3s and omega-6s, so that they are metabolized as they should be. The downside is that whole milk is calorically dense, meaning that a little goes a long way. You don’t need much to get what you need, so just don’t overdo it!  2% Milk: The fat content of 2% milk is about half of that in who
Read more