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Veganism is an increasingly popular identity within Western societies, including Australia. However, there appears to be a positivist approach to defining veganism in the literature. This has implications for measurement and coherence of the research literature. This exploratory study assessed preference rankings for definitions of veganism used by vegan advocacy groups across an Australian convenience sample of three dietary groups (vegan = 230, omnivore = 117, vegetarian = 43). Participants were also asked to explain their ranking order in an open-ended question. Most vegans selected the UK definition as their first preference, omnivores underwent five rounds of preference reallocation before the Irish definition was selected, and vegetarians underwent four rounds before the UK definition was selected. A reflexive thematic analysis of participant explanations for their rankings identified four themes: (1) Diet vs. lifestyle, (2) Absolutism, (3) Social justice, and (4) Animal justice. These four themes represent how participants had differing perceptions of veganism according to their personal experience and understanding of the term. It appears participants took less of an absolutist approach to the definition and how individuals conceptualise veganism may be more dynamic than first expected. This will be important when researchers consider how veganism is defined in future studies to maintain consistency in the field.

Introduction: Healthy preconception and antenatal diet and physical activity behaviours are crucial to prevent adverse maternal and offspring outcomes. These behaviours are thought to be linked to pregnancy intentions. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the association between women’s pregnancy intentions and diet or physical activity behaviours in the preconception and antenatal periods. Methods: Medline Complete, PsycINFO, CINAHL Complete, Global Health, Embase, and INFORMIT: Health Subset were searched in September 2018 for studies that evaluated relationships between pregnancy intentions and dietary and physical activity behaviours. Risk of bias was assessed and random effects meta-analyses were conducted for dietary (food groups; energy and macronutrients; diet quality; and caffeine, iodine and folate intake) and physical activity outcomes.Results: Of 2623 screened records, 19 eligible studies were identified. Overall risk of bias was moderate to high. Twelve studies measured diet/physical activity behaviours during preconception, 5 during pregnancy, and 2 across both periods. Eleven studies measured pregnancy intention retrospectively, and 8 prospectively measured pregnancy intention. The number of studies available for meta-analyses of individual dietary and physical activity outcomes ranged from 2 to 5. Pregnancy intentions were not associated with preconception fruit, vegetable, or caffeine intake or physical activity. Antenatally, women with intended pregnancies were more likely to report healthier diets, lower caffeine intake and higher physical activity. Insufficient studies were available to conduct subgroup comparisons for prospective/retrospective assessment.Discussion: Pregnancy intentions were not associated with preconception diet or physical activity behaviours. In contrast, antenatally, women with intended pregnancies demonstrated better diet and physical activity behaviours. Given the small number of studies available for meta-analyses, further research is needed to consolidate our findings. Meanwhile, health professionals can assess women’s pregnancy intentions during preconception and pregnancy and encourage a healthy lifestyle.PROSPERO registration number CRD42018107854.

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic mapping review of the literature that explored associations of pregnancy intentions with health-related lifestyle behaviours and psychological wellbeing before and during pregnancy. Six databases were searched (May 2017) for papers relating to pregnancy intentions, health-related lifestyle behaviours, and psychological wellbeing. The literature was mapped according to the preconception or pregnancy period; prospective or retrospective variable assessment; and reported lifestyle behaviours and psychological wellbeing outcomes. Of 19,430 retrieved records, 303 studies were eligible. Pregnancy intentions were considered during the preconception period in 103 studies (only 23 assessed prospectively), and during the pregnancy period in 208 studies (141 prospectively). Associations between pregnancy intention and preconception behaviours/psychological wellbeing were primarily reported for supplement use (n = 58) and were lacking for diet/exercise, and psychological factors. For behaviours/psychological wellbeing during pregnancy, associations with pregnancy intention were focused on prenatal care (n = 79), depression (n = 61), and smoking (n = 56) and were lacking for diet/exercise. Only 7 studies assessed pregnancy intentions with a validated tool. Despite a large body of literature, there were several methodological limitations identified, namely assessment of pregnancy intentions with non-validated measures and the reliance on retrospective assessment. Future primary studies are needed to fill gaps in our understanding regarding energy-balance-related behaviours. Future studies (including reviews/meta-analyses) should take care to address the noted limitations to provide a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the relationships between pregnancy intentions and health-related lifestyle behaviours and psychological wellbeing before and during pregnancy. Keywords: Pregnancy intention, Pregnancy planning, Preconception, Pregnancy, Lifestyle, Behaviour, Psychological wellbeing