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Differences in food intake among obese and nonobese women and men with type 2 diabetes
Soghra Jarvandi1, Réjeanne Gougeon, Abeer Bader
1Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA.
Objective:
Weight reduction is a key goal for the prevention of vascular complications in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes, but a nutritionally balanced intake is also important in this regard. We compared dietary intakes and vitamin supplement use between obese and nonobese women and men with type 2 diabetes to identify gaps in adherence to nutritional management guidelines.
Methods:
We analyzed data from a longitudinal study of adults with type 2 diabetes, wherein participants were assessed once per season over 1 year. Dietary data were collected using a validated semiquantitative, self-administered food-frequency questionnaire. Given the absence of seasonal variations in anthropometric variables and dietary intake, data from multiple visits were averaged for each individual. Associations of both intake of fruit and vegetables and nutrients related to cardiovascular disease risk were compared between obese (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m²) and nonobese individuals through multivariable linear regression with adjustments for age, education, and energy intake.
Results:
Among the 200 participants (93 women and 107 men), 53% of women and 43% of men were obese. Compared with nonobese women, obese women consumed more saturated fat (mean difference, 1.2% of total energy intake; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3% to 2.2%) and sodium (mean difference, 0.3 g; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.5 g), and they had a lower intake of fiber (mean difference, -2.7 g; 95% CI, -4.4 to -0.9 g) and magnesium (mean difference, -33.6 mg; 95% CI, -55.2 to -12.0 g). No differences in dietary intake were observed between obese and nonobese men, but the intakes of men overall were similar to those of obese women. Compared with nonobese participants, fewer obese individuals used vitamin/mineral supplements (women: 37% vs 48%, men: 26% vs 38%).
Conclusions:
Obese women and both obese and nonobese men appeared to have poorer dietary quality compared with nonobese women. Our findings support the need to emphasize dietary composition in addition to weight control in diabetes.
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