Higher energy intake at night effects daily energy distribution and contributes to excessive weight gain during pregnancy

Chrononutrition during Pregnancy: A Review on Maternal Night-Time Eating

“…Of these women, 15% consumed more than 50% of their TDEI during the period of 7:00 p.m.-6:59 a.m. [17]. In the study by Gontijio et al [18] involving 100 pregnant women in Brazil, 45% of them had high energy intake more than the medians between 7:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. for at least two trimesters. A study of African American pregnant women (n = 40) at 32-34 weeks gestation reported that an average of 25% of TDEI was consumed between 8:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. [16].…”

“…Herein, we describe published reports that used either quantitative (e.g., food record/diary, 24-h recall) or qualitative (e.g., self-estimation of energy intake, questionnaire) dietary assessment methods to assess night eating during pregnancy (Table 1). Only three research groups (United States, Singapore and Brazil) were identified as studying maternal night eating using food diaries or recalls [16][17][18]. In a study of African American women, a 2 day food diary was used to assess maternal night-time energy intake in the third trimester of pregnancy, as determined by an average of total daily energy intake (TDEI) between 8:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. [16].…”

“…Night-time energy intake was based on TDEI between 7:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m., the period aligns with local sunset and sunrise times throughout the year in Singapore. Women were defined as predominantly night eaters if consuming more than 50% of TDEI between 7:00 p.m. and 6:59 a.m. More recently, Gontijio and colleagues from Brazil determined night-time energy intake based on the average of TDEI between 7:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., using three non-consecutive 24 h recalls (one weekend and two weekdays) at each trimester of pregnancy [18]. Women were classified into higher night-time intake if consuming night-time energy above the median of the population for at least two trimesters.…”

“…Maternal night eating is considered common during pregnancy. The prevalence of night eating is expected to be much higher than NES, ranging from 15% to 45% during pregnancy depending on definitions used [17,18,20,22]. Most studies have been cross-sectional and trimester-specific, with little known about how the daily energy distribution and night eating behaviors change across trimesters and impact on health.…”

“…Most studies have been cross-sectional and trimester-specific, with little known about how the daily energy distribution and night eating behaviors change across trimesters and impact on health. The question has been partly addressed by a prospective cohort studying women from the first until the third trimesters; this reported that the temporal distribution of eating pattern including meal timing and frequency remained constant throughout the gestation trimesters [18]. However, the small sample size (n = 100) might have restricted the generalizability of findings to wider and other pregnant populations.…”