Socioeconomic profile, overweight and association of food consumption with weight gain of pregnant women in a municipality in northeast Brazil

Introduction: a nutritionally poor food consumption and inadequate gestational weight gain increase the risk of adverse health outcomes for the mother-child binomial Objective: to evaluate the nutritional status, weight gain and nutritional assistance in pregnant women assisted by the Family Health Strategy (FHS) and its relationship with food consumption and income. Materials and Methods: cross-sectional study, carried out with 50 pregnant women from 8 FHS units in the city of Picos-PI. A structured questionnaire was applied to obtain socioeconomic and obstetric data, in addition to two 24-hour recalls (R24h) on alternate days, to assess food consumption of ultra-processed foods. Results and discussions: pregnant women were between 18 and 42 years old and 14% of them had at least 1 consultation with a nutritionist. 44% had inadequate pre-gestational nutritional status and 70% had inadequate weekly weight gain. There was no association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and weight gain or nutritional status. Conclusion: a significant number of pregnant women had inadequate nutritional status before pregnancy, and a gestational weight gain above the recommended was also identified. Thus, highlighting the importance of gestational nutritional monitoring.