INTRODUCTION
Maternal dietary intake in the periconception period affects fertility,
prenatal development and pregnancy outcome with long-lasting
consequences for offspring health 1-4. In the typical
Western diet, the intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains is
generally below recommended levels and the proportion of sodium, fats
and carbohydrates is relatively high 5. With the
global exponential increase of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption in
the last decade, the nutritional status of women has worsened4, 6, 7. Therefore, there is an urgent need to
investigate how UPF consumption impacts prenatal development.
UPF, such as soft drinks, instant meals and confectionery, are produced
by various processing techniques, and additives are used to produce
durable, appetizing, ready-to-eat packaged foods 8.
UPF differ in composition compared to less processed foods as they are
generally high in energy and contain higher levels of sodium, sugars and
saturated fat 9, 10. Foods rich in simple
carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids are typically associated with a
negative impact on overall health and promote obesity11. Indeed, several studies have shown a negative
effect of high UPF consumption on multiple health domains, including an
increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and certain type of
cancers 12, 13.
High consumption of UPF in the periconception period is associated with
impaired embryonic growth, increased gestational weight gain and higher
neonatal body fat 14, 15. Yet research on associations
between maternal UPF consumption and obstetric outcomes are scarce and
the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. As the placenta
forms the crucial link between the mother and the growing conceptus and
is essential for the delivery of oxygen, energy and nutrients16, 17, we hypothesize high UPF consumption impairs
the utero-placental vascular development with consequences for pregnancy
outcomes and prenatal growth18.
In the present study, our primary aim is to investigate whether
periconceptional maternal consumption of UPF impairs first-trimester
utero-placental vascular development using recently developed imaging
markers 19, 20. We further explore whether the
associations can be substantiated by macronutrient intake and the
adherence to specific dietary patterns.