Posted on 10/22/2021 12:01:17 PM PDT by Red Badger
Women and pregnant people are underrepresented in the studies used to draw up the nutritional guidance provided to Americans and Canadians, according to a paper published today in Science Advances.
"Our research is the first comprehensive review of the underlying research that informs nutrient reference values. These are used for so many things: from developing federal food programs to deciding what's in your granola bar to determining the makeup of your prenatal vitamins," Emily R. Smith, an assistant professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the George Washington University, said. "Our study points to gaps in knowledge about the exact level of micronutrients we need to eat to protect the health of women, including pregnant women."
Smith and her colleagues reviewed all of the studies that underpin the reference values for micronutrients established in the Dietary Reference Values for the United States and Canada.
The team found that nearly one quarter of the studies included men only, and in research that did include women, female participants were underrepresented compared to men. Studies that used cutting-edge research methods were least likely to include women. Pregnant or lactating women were included in just 17% of the studies, a gap that makes it hard to provide nutritional advice to help keep mothers and babies healthy, Smith said.
Smith and her team also found that 90% of the studies in this subject area failed to identify the race or ethnicity of participants, a finding that raises a concern that minority populations are also underrepresented.
"Future versions of these national and international guidance reports should include metrics of diversity and inclusion, and any data used must be examined for sex-specific effects. Funders and researchers must redouble their efforts to include women and pregnant people in studies that can inform future versions of the nutrient reference values," Smith said. "Ultimately such efforts would help the private sector, governments, and the public get the nutritional information needed to support good health."
The study, "Limited data exists to inform our basic understanding of micronutrient requirements in pregnancy," was published online Oct. 22 in the journal Science Advances.
Explore further
Are women getting adequate nutrition during preconception and pregnancy?
More information:
Emily R. Smith, Limited data exist to inform our basic understanding of micronutrient requirements in pregnancy, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj8016.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj8016
Journal information: Science Advances
Provided by George Washington University
LOLOLOL. Who are these “pregnant people”. Does someone have a photo of one?
They don’t exist. Anywhere. Ever.
If you ever doubted that liberals are insane this should settle the issue.
Is she SUGGESTING we make more pregnant people? Well, well, well!
Any study that uses the term “pregnant people” should be sent to File 13 immediately.
pregnant people???
I’m offended because they didn’t say, “birthing persons”.
Stunningly stupid sh8t. Someone should be embarrassed.
Exactly, who the frak is/are ‘pregnant people’?
LMAO
So, Red Badger was kidnapped and his screen name taken over by a liberal who posts micronutrients and pregnant people crap?
Yikes....
LOL.
Not only are they “underrepresented” I have no doubt they are “underserved” as well.
Being aware of the insanity of our country is important.
There’s more to this world than Brian Laundrie and Alec Baldwin...
:)
Isn’t “pregnant” an offensive pejorative? Shouldn’t it be something like “Birthing Person with clump of gestating cells”?
Hey pal, birthing persons have to be pregnant persons first.
“... pregnant people...”
When they say pregnant people, they don’t mean men. They are staying within their gender guidelines and referencing women that identify as men to include them when they screw up or get that way trying to have children as an identified man to procreate.
Of course a man cannot get pregnant. But a woman that looks like a man can in most situations. It’s a word game.
wy69
I can’t imagine Joe Biden’s mother ever being a woman, was probably a pregnant person. With the requisite freakazoid child.
Uterus owners
LOL - you're right. Bring on the pregnant people stories...
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