Dietary Habits and Physical Activity among Arab Pregnant Women: A Sociocultural Study on Kuwaitis

(Maha Meshari Al-Sejari and Yagoub Al-Kandari)

---

Abstract

Pregnancy is a critical stage in the life of the mother and fetus. Several physiological and psychological changes occur for both. Some of the most prominent factors affecting their health are the mother's food habits, physical activity, and access to essential information about pregnancy. The current study aims to measure the patterns of lifestyle behaviours of pregnant women. A sample of 214 pregnant Kuwaiti women was selected. A questionnaire was the primary tool used to conduct the study. It consisted of five sections: (1) sociocultural factors, (2) information about the primary sources of pregnancy and the health condition of pregnant women, (3) general healthy lifestyle behaviours, (4) pregnant women's lifestyle, and (5) awareness of basic information on pregnancy. Also, interviews with 12 female respondents were conducted. To analyze the results, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. T-test and chi-square were the major statistical procedures employed. The results indicated that many respondents changed their eating habits and lifestyle behaviour during pregnancy. They also revealed that there was a high degree of awareness about health issues related to pregnancy. The study also showed cultural differences among certain social groups in Kuwait. 

KEYWORDS
Dietary habits, physical activity, Kuwaiti pregnant, sociocultural study

PDF

References

Abu-Saad, K., F.D. (2010). Maternal nutrition and birth outcomes. Epidemiol Rev, 32(n/a), 5–25.
Adawi, DH. (2014). Prevalence and Predictors of Herb Use during Pregnancy (A study at Rafidia Governmental Hospital/ Palestine). Available at:  http://scholar.najah.edu/sites/default/files/all-thesis/deema_adawi.pdf. (accessed on 3/2/2014).
 Agus, Y. and Horiuchi, S. (2012). Factors influencing the use of antenatal care in rural West Sumatra, Indonesia. Pregnancy and Childbirth, 12 (9), n/a.
 Ahlqvist, M. and Wirfält, E. (2000). Beliefs concerning dietary practices during pregnancy and lactation: A qualitative study among Iranian women residing in Sweden. Scand J Caring Sci, 14(2), 105–11. 
Ahmed, F. and Al-Sumaie. M.A. (2011). Risk factors associated with anemia and iron deficiency among Kuwaiti pregnant women. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition,  62(6), n/a. 
 Al-Ateeq, M., Al-Rusaiess, A., and Al-Dughaither, A. (2013). Perception and effects of antenatal education. Saudi Med J, 34(12), 179–85.
Al-Hazaa, M.H. (2010). Mothoaat Mokhtarah Fi Fasyologia Alnashat Wa Aleda Albadani. Kolyat Altarbyah-Jamat Almalik Saood 'Selected Topics in Activity Physiology and Physical Performance'. Saudi Arabia: King Saud University Publishing House. [in Arabic]
Al-Kandai, Y. (2003). Althaqafah Wa Alsaha Wa Almarad:Roayah Jadedah Fi Alathnobologyah Almoasrah. Alkoyat: Majlis Alnashir Alalmi،Jamat Alkoyat 'Culture, Health, and Disease: A New Vision in Contemporary Anthropology. Kuwait: Academic Publishing Council, Kuwait University'. [in Arabic]
Al-Kandai, Y. (2010). Altagheer wa Alhadatha: Al Osrah AlKoytyah Anmothjan 'Change and Modernity: The Kuwaiti Family, Sample'. Cairo: The Modern University Office. [in Arabic]
Al-Kanhal, M, and Bani, I. (1995) Food habits during pregnancy among Saudi women. Int J Vitam Nutr Res, 65(3), 206–10.
Al-Riyami, I.M., Al-Busaidy, I.Q, and Al-Zakwani, I.S. (2011). Medication use during pregnancy in Omani women. Int J Clin Pharm, 33(4), 634–41.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist. (2002). Available at. https://www.acog.org/ (Accessed on 4/6/2002).
Amorim, A.R., Rössner, S., Neovius, M., Lourenço, P.M. and Linné, Y. (2007). Does excess pregnancy weight gain constitute a major risk for increasing long‐term BMI? Obesity, 15 (5), 1278–1286. 
Bianchi, C.M., Mariotti, F., Verger, E.O. and Huneau, J.F. (2016). Pregnancy requires major changes in the quality of the diet for nutritional adequacy: simulations in the French and the United States populations. PloS one, 11(3), e0149858
Blumer, H. (2009). Symbolic Interactionism; Perspective and Method.11th edition. California, USA: University of California Press.
Borodulin, K., Evenson, K.R., Wen, F., Herring, A.H. and Benson, A. (2008). Physical activity patterns during pregnancy. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 40(11), 1901–8.
Campbell, F., Johnson, M., Messina, J., Guillaume, L. and Goyder, E. (2011). Behavioural interventions for weight management in pregnancy: a systematic review of quantitative and qualitative data. Public Health, 11(1), 491. 
Chowdhury, M.A., Helman, C. and Greenhalgh, T. (2000). Food beliefs and practices among British Bangladeshis with diabetes: implications for health education. Anthropol Med, 7(n/a), 209–26.
Dabaghian, F.H., Fard, M.A., Shojaei, A., Kianbakht, S., Zafarghandi, N. and Goushegir, A. (2012). Use And Attitude on Herbal Medicine in a group of Pregnant Woman in Tehran. J Med Plants, 11(41), 22–33.
Gaston, A. and Cramp, A. (2011).Exercise during pregnancy: a review of patterns and determinants. J Sci Med Sport, 14(4), 299–305. 
Greenhalgh, T., Clinch, M., Afsar, N., Choudhury, Y., Sudra, R. and Campbell-Richards, D. (2015). Socio-cultural influences on the behavior of south-asian women with diabetes in pregnancy: qualitative study using a multi-level theoretical approach. Med, 13(n/a), 120.
Guelfi, K.J., Wang, C., Dimmock, J.A., Jackson, B. J.P. and Yang, H. (2015). A comparison of beliefs about exercise during pregnancy between Chinese and Australian pregnant women. Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15(n/a), 345.
Khadivzadeh, T. and Ghabel, M. (2012). Complementary and alternative medicine use in pregnancy in Mashhad, Iran, 2007-8. Iran J. Nurs Midwifery Res. May, 17(4), 263–69
Kominiarek, M.A., Gay, F. and Peacock, N. (2015). Obesity in Pregnancy: A Qualitative Approach to Inform an Intervention for Patients and Providers. Matern Child Health J, 19(8), 1698–712.
Martin, C.L., Sotres-Alvarez, D. and Siega-Riz, A.M. (2015). Maternal Dietary Patterns during the Second Trimester Are Associated with Preterm Birth. J Nutr, 145(n/a),1857–64.
Morales, E., Rodriguez, A., Valvi, D., Iñiguez, C., Esplugues, A. and Vioque, J. (2015). Deficit of vitamin D in pregnancy and growth and overweight in the offspring. Int J Obes (Lond), 39(n/a), 61–8.
Orief, Y.I., Farghaly, N.F., and Ibrahim, M.I.A. (2014). Use of herbal medicines among pregnant women attending family health centers in Alexandria. Middle East Fertility Society Journal, 19(1), 42–50.
 Padmanabhan, U., Summerbell, C.D. and Heslehurst, N. (2015). A qualitative study exploring pregnant women’s weight-related attitudes and beliefs in UK: the BLOOM study. Pregnancy Childbirth, 15(99), n/a.
Patil, R. and Mitta, A. (2010). Taboos and misconceptions about food during pregnancy among rural population of Pondicherry. Calicut Medical Journal, 8(2), e4.
 Santos-Torres, M.I. and Squez-Garibay, E.V. (2003). Food Taboos among Nursing Mothers of Mexico. J Health Popul Nutr, 21(2), 142–49.
Sawalha, A.F. (2007).Consumption of Prescription and non-Prescription Medications by Pregnant Women: A Cross Sectional Study in Palestine. Islam Univ J, 15(2), 41–57.
Schoenaker, D.A.J.M., Mishra, G.D., Callaway, L.K. and Soedamah-Muthu, S.S. (2016). The Role of Energy, Nutrients, Foods, and Dietary Patterns in the Development of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies. Diabetes Care, 39, 16–23.
Viswanathan, M., Siega-Riz, A.M., Moos, M.K., Deierlein, A., Mumford, S., Knaack, J. and Lohr, K.N. (2008). Outcomes of maternal weight gain. Evid Rep Technol Assess, 168(1), 223.
 Whitaker, K.M., Wilcox, S., Liu, J., Blair, S.N. and Pate, R.R. (2016).African American and White women s perceptions of weight gain, physical activity, and nutrition during pregnancy. Midwifery, 34(n/a), 211–20.
WHO. (2011). Global Status Report on Noncommunicable Diseases 2010. Geneva. Available at https://apps.who. int/iris/bitstream/handle /10665/44579/9789240686458_eng.pdf;jsessionid=3017EB0759315910907EE414F46077CA?sequence=1
WHO. (2016). WHO Recommendations on Antenatal Care for a Positive Pregnancy Experience. Available at: https://www. who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/maternal_perinatal_health/anc-positive-pregnancy-experience/en/ (accessed on 01/08/2020)
Zepro, N.B. (2015). Food Taboos and Misconceptions among Pregnant Women of Shashemene District, Ethiopia. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(3), 410–16.