CarbohydrateIntake and Abdominal Obesity in Swedish Men

• ABSTRACTBackground/Objectives: Associations between carbohydrates, particularly simple sugar and starch, and abdominal anthropometric measures appears controversial. However, the role of dietary carbohydrate intake in obesity and abdominal obesity has been debated, and few studies have been conducted in Nordic populations. We aim to examine the associations between carbohydrate quantity and quality, and anthropometric measures in Swedish men.Subjects/Methods: A cross-sectional investigation of 301 63-year-old men was conducted. Six men were excluded due to missing data on dietary intake and anthropometric measures, leaving 295 men for the present study. Healthy men were recruited from the Swedish 60YO cohort of men and women who had a health screening between 1997 to 1999. Carbohydrate and alcohol intake were assessed by a 7-days food record. The examination included anthropometric measurements (e. g., weight, BMI, WC, WHR, and SAD), fasting blood samples, and a comprehensive questionnaire. Spearman rank correlation and linear regression models were performed to assess relations between dietary intakes and anthropometric measures. Intakes of macronutrients were energy-adjusted according to the residual method. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI for abdominal obesity per intake tertiles.Results: Intakes of carbohydrate, monosaccharide, fibers, and fruits and vegetables correlated negatively with anthropometric measures of overall obesity (BMI) and AO (WC, WHR, and SAD). Total carbohydrate intake was significantly inversely associated with WHR and SAD. Likewise, monosaccharide intake was significantly associated with lower BMI, WC, WHR, and SAD. In contrast, alcohol intake was significantly associated with weight, BMI, WC, and SAD (Table 4). Alcohol intake was associated with AO (P for linear trend 0.002). Men in the highest tertile of alcohol intake were almost three times as likely to have AO compared to the men in the lowest tertile of intake, OR (95% CI): 2.93 (1.40-6.16). There was no evidence of non-linear association between the macronutrients and AO.Conclusion: In this Swedish population of older men, higher intakes of total carbohydrates and monosaccharides were associated a more favorable body fat distribution and lower abdominal adiposity. Men with higher alcohol intake were more likely to have AO as compared with a lower intake.

Nyckelord

carbohydrate intake

abdominal obesity

anthropometric measures.

Kostvetenskap

Food, Nutrition and Dietetics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)