Energy Density is Not a Consistent Correlate of Adiposity in Women During the Menopausal Transition

The association between the energy density (ED) of foods and adiposity has been reported previously. However, whether the contribution of ED to adiposity remains significant when controlled for energy intake (EI) and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) remains to be clearly established. We aimed to investigate the independent contribution of ED to variations in body composition in women during the menopausal transition.

Sixty-seven women from the MONET cohort study were analyzed. Seven-day food records were used to assess EI and ED. Body composition (body fat mass (FM) and trunk-fat mass (TFM)) was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry; PAEE was assessed with accelerometers. This secondary analysis of data included measurements obtained at years 1 and 5 of the study.

Mean ED was correlated with FM (r = 0.22; P = 0.04) and TFM (r = 0.22; P = 0.04) at year 1, but not at year 5. The multiple regression analysis showed that EI and ED contributed to 14% of the variance in FM and TFM at year 1.

These results suggest that ED is a modest but inconsistent determinant of adiposity in healthy women at the time of the menopause transition.