(P18-057-23) In Couples With Obesity, Poor Paternal Tendency To Eat in Response to Food Cues and Limit Food Intake Is Associated With Higher Total and Rate of Maternal Gestational Weight Gain

Objectives: Determine if paternal eating behaviors influence maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and to understand if this differs between couples who both have obesity, overweight, or normal weight.

Methods: In 150 couples in the GLOWING study (NCT01131117), general linear models were used to examine relationships between paternal eating behaviors: cognitive restraint (score range 0-21), dietary disinhibition (score range 0-18), and perceived hunger (score range 0-14) measured with the Eating Inventory (higher scores reflect poorer levels of each eating behavior), and total GWG [difference between weights (kg) at 10 and 36 weeks gestation] and rate of GWG (kg/week) and if this differed by couples who both had normal weight (n=22), overweight (n=18), or obesity (n=12), or discordance for body mass index (BMI) (n=98, referent group). Covariates included race, education, income, marital status, and age.

Results: Paternal cognitive restraint, dietary disinhibition, and perceived hunger were 6.5±4.6, 5.4±3.4, and 4.8±3.3, respectively, with most fathers expressing low (score≤10) cognitive restraint (84%), low (score ≤8) dietary disinhibition (83%), and low (score≤7) perceived hunger (81%). Paternal dietary disinhibition differed between couple weight groups. Couples who both had obesity had the highest paternal dietary disinhibition scores (p < 0.01). A significant interaction was observed between couple weight groups, that demonstrated that couples who both had obesity had positive relationships between paternal dietary disinhibition and total GWG (model r²=0.10; p=0.03) and between paternal cognitive restraint and rate of GWG (model r²=0.19; p=0.01). Yet, these relationships were not observed in couples who both had normal weight or overweight, or couples who had BMI discordance.

Conclusions: In couples who both had obesity, lower levels of paternal dietary disinhibition (tendency to eat in response to food cues) and paternal cognitive restraint (tendency to limit food intake) may contribute to lower GWG. This evidence suggests that fathers may actively contribute to household nutrition-based decision-making influencing maternal health behaviors in pregnancy in those at a greater risk of experiencing excess GWG.

Funding Sources: USDA-ARS
NIH
NORC
LA CaTS