Predominantly night-time feeding and maternal glycaemic levels during pregnancy

Little is known about the influence of meal timing and energy consumption patterns throughout the day on glucose regulation during pregnancy. We examined the association of maternal feeding patterns with glycaemic levels among lean and overweight pregnant women. In a prospective cohort study in Singapore, maternal 24-h dietary recalls, fasting glucose (FG) and 2-h postprandial glucose (2HPPG) concentrations were measured at 26-28 weeks of gestation. Women (n 985) were classified into lean (BMI<23 kg/m²) or overweight (BMI≥23 kg/m²) groups. They were further categorised as predominantly daytime (pDT) or predominantly night-time (pNT) feeders according to consumption of greater proportion of energy content from 07.00 to 18.59 hours or from 19.00 to 06.59 hours, respectively. On stratification by weight status, lean pNT feeders were found to have higher FG than lean pDT feeders (4.36 (sd 0.38) v. 4.22 (sd 0.35) mmol/l; P=0.002); however, such differences were not observed between overweight pDT and pNT feeders (4.49 (sd 0.60) v. 4.46 (sd 0.45) mmol/l; P=0.717). Using multiple linear regression with confounder adjustment, pNT feeding was associated with higher FG in the lean group (β=0.16 mmol/l; 95 % CI 0.05, 0.26; P=0.003) but not in the overweight group (β=0.02 mmol/l; 95 % CI -0.17, 0.20; P=0.879). No significant association was found between maternal feeding pattern and 2HPPG in both the lean and the overweight groups. In conclusion, pNT feeding was associated with higher FG concentration in lean but not in overweight pregnant women, suggesting that there may be an adiposity-dependent effect of maternal feeding patterns on glucose tolerance during pregnancy.