Dietary Predictors of Overweight and Obesity in Iranian Adolescents

Considering both diet and energy expenditures possess some influence on weight status, research into dietary determinants of obesity is challenging but essential to rational planning of well-organized interventions to avoid obesity.

This study aimed to determine whether dietary factors were predictive of overweight and obesity in adolescents in the Iranian population.

A total of 840 students, ages 15 - 17, from six schools were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. A diet-patterns approach often has been used to describe the eating patterns in adolescents. Height, weight, and waist circumference anthropometric indices, physical activity, waist hip ratio, and BMI measurements were determined. Daily dietary data and weighed food records were collected in 2010 and 2011. Abdominal obesity was defined according to world health organization guidelines, and the relationship between dietary predictor variables and the measures of adiposity were determined by using linear regression. Usual dietary intakes were assessed in an experimental study of Esfahani students.

In total, 38.5% of girls and 32.2% of boys had a Western dietary pattern as the more prevalent pattern. The diet quality of adolescents with the lowest score on each dietary pattern was compared with those recording the highest scores. Those with the Western dietary pattern score were less likely to exercise and had a higher prevalence of general obesity. Adolescents in the greater quartile of the Mediterranean dietary patterns had the lowest odds of being overweight (OR 0.50, 95%; CI 0.27 - 0.73) and obese (OR 0.48, 95%; CI 0.15 - 0.80) than those in the lower quartile, whereas those in the greater quartile of the Western dietary pattern had the highest odds of being overweight (OR 1.69, 95%; CI 1.10 - 2.04) and obese (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.05 - 1.84). Higher consumption of a Western dietary pattern and a salty dietary pattern were associated significantly with obesity (P < 0.05). Intake of a Western dietary pattern and a salty-sweet dietary pattern were associated positively with measures of adiposity, namely body mass index and waist circumference.

This study showed significant associations between the seven dietary patterns and overweight and obesity among adolescents. Using dietary patterns within adolescents can provide important information on dietary consumption, and this approach is clearer and much easier to follow.