Diet Quality and Body Composition in Young Adults

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2022-11, Vol.30, p.249-249
• Main Authors: Costello, Elizabeth, Goodrich, Jesse, Patterson, William, Rock, Sarah, Li, Yiping, Baumert, Brittney, Gilliland, Frank, Goran, Michael, Chen, Zhanghua, Alderete, Tanya, Conti, David, Chatzi, Leda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body composition; Body fat; Body mass index; Diet; Young adults
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X

Background: Obesity is linked to metabolic disease and is becoming more common in younger populations. Diet is a known modifiable risk factor and improvements in diet during young adulthood may be especially important to prevent obesity and related health risks. The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between diet quality and adiposity in a cohort of young adults. Methods: Participants (age: 17-22 years) in the MetaAir study between 2014-2018 (n=155) were invited for a follow up visit between 2020-2022 (n=89). At both visits, body composition was assessed using body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Diet quality was measured using four indices: the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score, the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI), Mediterranean diet score (MDS), and Diet Inflammatory Index (DII). Linear regression analysis evaluated the relationships between diet scores and adiposity measures, including body fat percent, android to gynoid ratio (A:G), fat mass to height ratio (F:H), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT, in3) at each visit, and between change in diet index and change in adiposity measures across visits. All analyses adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and energy intake. Results: DII was positively associated with adiposity at all time points, though only statistically significantly associated with body fat percent in the cross-sectional analyses. Higher DASH scores were significantly associated with lower BMI (ß [95%CI]: -1.80 [-3.32, -0.27], body fat percent (ß [95%CI]: -2.08 [-3.35, -0.80]), F:H (ß [95%CI]: -0.052 [-0.098, -0.0060]), and VAT (ß [95%CI]: -83.47 [-153.72, -13.21]) at follow up, but not at baseline. Increases in the DASH score between visits was associated with decreases in BMI, body fat percent, and VAT. There were no clear associations between HEI or MDS and body composition. Conclusions: Adherence to the DASH diet was associated with lower body fat and adiposity. Higher DII scores, indicating a proinflammatory diet, were associated with higher body fat.