Pregnancy physical activity questionnaire (PPAQ): Translation and cross cultural adaption of an Arabic version.

Introduction: Physical activity level during pregnancy is unknown in Middle Eastern and North African countries, since no valid tools assessing it exist in Arabic. The aim of this study is to culturally adapt and translate to Arabic an internationally validated instrument, the Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire (PPAQ), and to measure the physical activity of pregnant women using the adapted PPAQ, Arabic version. This tool is time-sparing, self-administered and is the only one taking into account childcare and household chores.

Discrepancies among different tools evaluating Mediterranean diet adherence during pregnancy, correlated to maternal anthropometric, dietary and biochemical characteristics.

Background & Aims: Scientific evidence confirms the favorable impact of Mediterranean diets (MD) on maternal and neonatal outcomes. However, the assessment of this dietary pattern requires valid indexes with scoring systems adapted to pregnant females. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the adherence to MD, through 5 internationally validated tools, in pregnant women following a Mediterranean eating pattern, correlated to maternal anthropometric, dietary and biochemical markers.

Impact of maternal body mass index and gestational weight gain on neonatal outcomes among healthy Middle-Eastern females.

Background: Studies on the relative impact of body mass index in women in childbearing age and gestational weight gain on neonatal outcomes are scarce in the Middle East.

Objectives: The primary objective of this research was to assess the impact of maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) on neonatal outcomes. The effect of maternal age and folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy was also examined.

Development, reproducibility and validity of a food frequency questionnaire among pregnant women adherent to the Mediterranean dietary pattern.

Background & Aims: Accurate dietary assessment tools are required to ensure that maternal diet supplies all the nutrients needed for fetal development. However, no dietary method could accurately estimate food intake during gestation. Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ), frequently used in epidemiological studies, estimate long term nutritional status of the target population.