Original title: Effect of amaranth flatbread on maternal anthropometry during pregnancy: Evidence from a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Southern Ethiopia
Researchers compared two flatbreads in pregnant women with mild-to-moderate anemia in Southern Ethiopia. One group ate 200 grams of amaranth-chickpea flatbread each day for six months; the other ate maize flatbread. At the end, the amaranth group had higher measurements for arm size, body mass index, and weight gained during pregnancy. These are signs of nutritional status, but the study does not show whether the bread changed babies’ health or other pregnancy outcomes.
Imagine making the same kind of bread for dinner every day, but using a different grain in one batch. It can be hard to tell whether any change in how people feel comes from the bread or from other differences between them. In this paper, the two batches are amaranth-chickpea and maize flatbread, and the researchers compare mothers’ body measurements after six months of eating them.
Undernutrition is a serious concern during pregnancy in Ethiopia. In this trial, a daily traditional-food intervention improved measures of mothers’ body size, suggesting that local foods could have a role in nutrition programs. The study measured these changes, not pregnancy or birth outcomes.
The abstract reports improvements in three body measurements among pregnant women with mild-to-moderate anemia in one district. It does not establish effects on anemia itself, pregnancy or birth outcomes, long-term health, or whether the results apply to other places or groups. No serious adverse events were reported, but the abstract does not provide details on less serious events.
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Effect of amaranth flatbread on maternal anthropometry during pregnancy: Evidence from a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Southern Ethiopia — Amanuel Yoseph, Lakew Mussie, Mehretu Belayneh et al. — PLoS ONE — doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0360480
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.