{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,9]],"date-time":"2026-06-09T06:33:53Z","timestamp":1780986833817,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]],"date-time":"2025-01-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736208000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Nutr."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Taste preference drives food selection, acceptance, or rejection and influences nutritional status and body mass index. Nevertheless, there are few reports concerning pregnant women. Mala flavor, characterized by its \u201cnumbing\u201d and \u201cspicy\u201d sensations, is a distinctive taste of Sichuan cuisine, created by the combination of Chinese prickly ash and chili peppers. We conducted a cohort study in Chongqing, China to analyze the impact of Mala flavor, on excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). The study included 495 pregnant women aged 20\u201345\u202fyears, without chronic diseases, who conceived naturally and had single pregnancies from May 2021 to November 2022. Demographic information and pregnancy outcomes were collected during the second trimester and post-delivery, respectively. Food intake and taste preferences, including fatty, salty, and Mala flavors, were assessed during the third trimester. Latent Profile Analysis revealed three dietary patterns: \u201chigh-carbohydrate diet\u201d (HCD), \u201clow-carbohydrate diet\u201d (LND), and \u201cmoderate nutrient diet\u201d (MND). Multiple logistic regression indicated that pregnant women preferring Mala flavor were more likely to follow an HCD and had a higher risk of excessive GWG. Moreover, those adhering to an HCD were at an increased risk of excessive GWG. Mediation analysis showed that the preference for Mala flavor influenced excessive GWG through HCDs, with a significant indirect effect and an insignificant direct effect. Our study suggests that a preference for Mala flavor is positively associated with excessive GWG, mediated by HCD patterns. However, these findings should be approached with caution due to the exploratory nature of the study.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fnut.2024.1464748","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]],"date-time":"2025-01-07T08:18:14Z","timestamp":1736237894000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Mala flavor preference increases risk of excessive gestational weight gain mediated by high-carbohydrate dietary patterns in Chongqing, China: an ambispective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Jinghua","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Difei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanyan","family":"Mao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wuxia","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qianxi","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jing","family":"Du","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weijin","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fen","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"611","DOI":"10.1079\/phn2001145","article-title":"Fetal programming and adult health","volume":"4","author":"Godfrey","year":"2001","journal-title":"Public Health Nutr"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2207","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2017.3635","article-title":"Association of gestational weight gain with maternal and infant outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"317","author":"Goldstein","year":"2017","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1568","DOI":"10.3390\/nu10111568","article-title":"Association between gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes risk, and obstetric outcomes: a randomized controlled trial post hoc analysis","volume":"10","author":"Simmons","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nutrients"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"984","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.15661","article-title":"Impact of maternal body mass index and gestational weight gain on pregnancy complications: an individual participant data meta-analysis of European, north American and Australian cohorts","volume":"126","author":"Santos","year":"2019","journal-title":"BJOG"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3211","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm12093211","article-title":"Excessive gestational weight gain and pregnancy outcomes","volume":"12","author":"Go\u0142awski","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chin Med J"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20865","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-99869-7","article-title":"The associations between maternal BMI and gestational weight gain and health outcomes in offspring at age 1 and 7 years","volume":"11","author":"Chiavaroli","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1080\/17446651.2022.2094366","article-title":"Maternal overweight and obesity during pregnancy: strategies to improve outcomes for women, babies, and children","volume":"17","author":"Dodd","year":"2022","journal-title":"Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2353","DOI":"10.2147\/dmso.S374427","article-title":"Increased gestational weight gain is associated with a higher risk of offspring adiposity before five years of age: a population-based cohort study","volume":"15","author":"Zhang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"93","DOI":"10.1159\/000496471","article-title":"Nutrition during pregnancy, lactation and early childhood and its implications for maternal and long-term child health: the early nutrition project recommendations","volume":"74","author":"Koletzko","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ann Nutr Metab"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.3390\/nu8100629","article-title":"Maternal diet and nutrient requirements in pregnancy and breastfeeding. 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