The Last Bite on the Plate, Association of Plate Clearing Tendency and Sustainable Nutrition with Weight Gain in Pregnancy

The aim is to examine the relationship between factors thought to potentially influence weight gain, such as sustainable nutrition (SN) behavior and plate clearing tendency (PCT) during pregnancy, and gestational weight gain (GWG). This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 340 women in the last trimester of pregnancy. Study data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire form between October-December 2024. PCT is lower among younger women, those with low income and those with insufficient GWG (p<0.05). SN behaviors are higher in those who are older, have higher education levels, lower income and moderate physical activity (p<0.05). A negative correlation was found between food preference, a component of SN behaviors, and GWG (p<0.05). In the binary logistic regression model, higher pre-pregnancy BMI significantly increased the likelihood of excessive GWG (OR=1.49, 95% CI:1.332-1.665, p<0.001), whereas high physical activity was found to be protective against excessive GWG (OR=0.214, 95% CI:0.061-0.747, p=0.016). It was determined that pre-pregnancy BMI was higher and physical activity was lower in those with excessive GWG, in addition, food preference, one of the factors of SN behavior, affected weight gain. Food preference can be considered as a factor that may affect GWG.