Impacts of motherhood on energy intake and macronutrient choice: A comparative study

Abstract

Motherhood is associated with substantial physiological and psychological changes in a women’s life; however, understanding remains limited with regard to eating behavioural related to motherhood. We performed two separate experiments to test potential effects of motherhood on energy intake and macronutrient choice. Experiment I, with a cross-sectional design, compared habitual dietary intake of 116 non-mothers and 107 mothers. This enabled calculations of energy and macronutrient intake. Experiment II evaluated food intake and macronutrient preference of first-time mothers (N = 41) against non-mothers (N = 50), using an ad-libitum intake task and a macronutrient preference ranking task. Consistent across these two experiments, little difference was seen between mothers and non-mothers in terms of the total energy intake. However, the ad-libitum intake task revealed a reduction of carbohydrate intake in mothers (F_(4,86) = 3.52, p = 0.010). Furthermore, mothers reported a greater preference for high fat food than non-mothers in the macronutrient preference task (H (1, n = 95) = 7.71, p = 0.005). Overall, results from the study point to potential differences in macronutrient preference and intake related to motherhood. While eating behaviour involves various factors, the present study offers initial insights into this emerging field to inform maternal food-related health initiatives and raises awareness of the importance of studying mothers’ eating behaviours.