title: Whole grain intake, determined by dietary records and plasma alkylresorcinol concentrations, is low among pregnant women in Singapore.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify whole grain intake in pregnant women in Singapore in order to provide the first detailed analysis of whole grain intake in an Asian country and in pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of 24-h diet recalls in a cross-sectional cohort study and analysis of a biomarker of whole grain intake (plasma alkylresorcinols) in a subset of subjects. The Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes-mother offspring cohort study based in Singapore. 998 pregnant mothers with complete 24-h recalls taken during their 26-28th week of gestation. Plasma samples from a randomly select subset of 100 subjects were analysed for plasma alkylresorcinols.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median (IQR) whole grain intake for the cohort and the 30% who reported eating whole grains were 0 (IQR 0, 9) and 23.6 (IQR 14.6, 44.2) g/day respectively. Plasma alkylresorcinol concentrations were very low [median (IQR)=9 (3, 15) nmol/L], suggesting low intake of whole grain wheat in this population. Plasma alkylresorcinols were correlated with whole grain wheat intake (Spearman's r=0.35; p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whole grain intake among pregnant mothers in Singapore was well below the 2-3 (60-95 g) servings of whole grains per day recommended by the Singapore Health Promotion Board. Efforts to increase whole grain intake should be supported to encourage people to choose whole grains over refined grains in their diet.
authors.affiliation: Food and Nutritional Science, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. Email: Alastair.Ross@chalmers.se.|Nestlé Research Centre, Vers chez les Blanc, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alastair B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
authors.forename: Marjorelee T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Colega
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.
authors.forename: Ai Lin
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Vers chez les Blanc, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Silva-Zolezzi
authors.affiliation: Nestlé Research Centre, Vers chez les Blanc, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Macé
authors.affiliation: Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Seang Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.affiliation: KK Children's and Women's Hospital, Singapore.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kwek
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.|Liggins Institute, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gluckman
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK.
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Yap-Seng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.affiliation: Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.|Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, SICS, A*STAR, Singapore.|Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mary F F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Chong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D002523:Edible Grain; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D011247:Pregnancy; D012118:Resorcinols / Q000097:blood*; D012846:Singapore; D000067348:Whole Grains
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012118:Resorcinols; C031389:resorcinol