(P10-110-24) Dietary Quality and Postpartum Weight Changes: An Analysis of Postpartum Women in Beijing Using the Adjusted Chinese Dietary Balance Index-16

Objectives: Diet plays a crucial role in maternal recovery, with postpartum weight changes, including retention and loss, significantly impacting women's health and long-term well-being. Yet, the relationship between postpartum diet and these weight changes in China remains poorly understood and complex. This study evaluates the dietary quality of postpartum women and investigate its association with postpartum weight changes, aiming for a clearer understanding of dietary impacts on maternal health.

Methods: Participants were enrolled in the Chinese Pregnant Women Cohort Study (Offspring Follow-up). Dietary intake and demographic characteristics were obtained by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and a self-designed questionnaire at one-year after delivery. Postpartum weight changes were calculated by the weight difference at one-year postpartum minus pre-pregnancy weight. Dietary quality was assessed using adjusted Dietary Balance Index-16 (DBI-16).

Results: Among 424 enrolled postpartum women, 11.32% experienced a decrease in body mass, whereas 42.45% faced significant postpartum weight retention (PPWR) of 5kg or more. Utilizing the adjusted DBI-16, 65.84% of postpartum women showed excessive dietary intake (59.07% cereal, 76.06% meat and poultry, 65.59% eggs, 63.09 cooking oil, respectively), 41.15% experienced insufficient dietary intake (73.07% vegetables, 66.08% fruits, and 83.29% dairy, respectively) and 87.56% had unbalanced dietary consumption. Higher dietary quality distance (DQD) scores were observed in women with PPWR compared to those with appropriate weight gain. Logistic regression models revealed that high levels of DQD problems was significantly associated with PPWR (OR = 2.597, 95% CI: 1.042-6.472). Excessive intake of meat and poultry, compared to moderate intake, was positively associated with PPWR (OR = 1.820, 95% CI: 1.012-3.273), while excessive cooking oil intake was inversely related to weight loss (OR = 0.455, 95% CI: 0.235-0.879).

Conclusions: The dietary quality of one-year postpartum women in Beijing, China, was imbalanced, which may contribute to variations in postpartum weight, indicating a potential area for nutritional intervention and support.

Funding Sources: This work was supported by an Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (2019-I2M-2-007).