The relationship between maternal body composition and diet with fetal development in low-income women in Brazil

The assessment of body composition requires the use of techniques that can accurately detect changes in total body water (TBW), and the accuracy of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) during pregnancy has been questioned. However, BIA was found to estimate TBW reliably during pregnancy. Previous studies of body composition during pregnancy suggest that the fat free mass (FFM) component of gestational weight gain (GWG) might be more important towards the end of gestation for fetal development while others suggest that the general GWG during mid-pregnancy is more important. Such associations are unclear regarding the components of GWG during the second trimester of gestation, particularly fat mass (FM). Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the use of segmental BIA with whole body BIA and assess the relationship between maternal FM and fetal growth and birth weight. This study further sought to analyze the fatty acid composition of breast milk from a subsample of women with premature infants and their cognitive and linguistic development. Based on the experiments of this research, there was a high level of disagreement between segmental and whole body BIA, where FFM was underestimated and FM overestimated by segmental BIA. With the use of whole body BIA, FM was significantly related to fetal growth and birth weight. In the subsample of women with preterm babies, the concentration of essential and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids was optimal, and we did not find any developmental delays in these children at 1yr. In conclusion, further studies need to verify our findings in this and other populations. As the Brazilian diet transitions into a Westernized one and the prevalence of obesity increases, the study of maternal diet, body composition, and breast milk quality is more important now than ever.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Tatiana Toro-Ramo