Washington, Sept 28 (ANI): Women who diet prior to becoming pregnant tend to gain more weight during pregnancy, according to a new study from University of North Carolina.

The study involving more than 1,200 women showed that those with a history of dieting are prone to excessive gestational weight gain.

The researchers note that excessive gestational weight gain “is of concern because of its association with postpartum weight retention” and other “adverse pregnancy outcomes such as gestational diabetes mellitus, cesarean sections, large-for-gestational age, and breastfeeding duration.”

“With the exception of underweight women, all other women with a history of dieting or restrained eating gained more weight during pregnancy and had higher adequacy of weight gain ratios,” the researchers found.

“Restrained eating behaviours were associated with weight gains above the Institute of Medicine’’s recommendations for normal, overweight, and obese women and weight gains below the recommendations for underweight women,” they added.

The study appears in Journal of the American Dietetic Association. (ANI)