Based on Institute of Medicine recommendations, excessive gestational weight gain is a widely documented problem. At present, the relation... Show moreBased on Institute of Medicine recommendations, excessive gestational weight gain is a widely documented problem. At present, the relation between gestational weight gain and food cravings in pregnancy is largely unknown. This study sought to assess associations between gestational food cravings and the following adverse outcomes: excessive gestational weight gain, depressed mood, disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and body dissatisfaction. A community sample of 74 pregnant women completed self-report questionnaires. Appearance evaluation and body areas satisfaction, two indices of body dissatisfaction, were inversely correlated with disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, current body mass index (BMI), and pre-pregnancy BMI. Depression was significantly related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and to one index of body dissatisfaction. Excessive gestational weight gain was not related to the presence of food cravings or to consumption of craved foods. Trait-level food cravings were significantly related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and disordered eating attitude scores differed significantly based on the presence of food cravings. Moderation analyses revealed that change in BMI moderated the relation between the presence of gestational food cravings and disordered eating attitudes and behaviors after accounting for relevant covariates, such that there was a stronger association between gestational food cravings and disordered eating attitudes in women with a greater change in BMI compared to women who experienced a low change in BMI. For those with a smaller change in BMI, disordered eating did not differ based on the endorsement of food cravings. However, for those with a large change in BMI, participants who reported the presence of food cravings endorsed more disordered eating as compared to those who did not report the presence of food cravings. Food cravings and gestational weight gain should be closely monitored as they may exacerbate underlying disordered eating attitudes or behaviors. M.S. in Psychology, December 2014 Show less
