Dietary fiber intake, dietary glycemic index and load, and body mass index: a cross-sectional study of 3931 Japanese women aged 18-20 years.
OBJECTIVE
Few observational studies have investigated dietary fiber intake and dietary glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) simultaneously in relation to obesity, particularly in non-Western populations. We examined the associations between dietary fiber intake and dietary GI and GL, and body mass index (BMI) in young Japanese women.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
A total of 3931 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18-20 years from 53 institutions in Japan.


METHODS
Dietary fiber intake and dietary GI and GL (GI for glucose=100) were assessed by a validated, self-administered, diet history questionnaire. BMI was calculated from self-reported body weight and height.


RESULTS
Mean values of BMI, dietary fiber intake, dietary GI and dietary GL were 21.0 kg/m(2), 6.5 g/4186 kJ, 65.1 and 82.1/4186 kJ, respectively. White rice (GI=77) was the major contributor to dietary GI and GL (45.8%). After controlling for potential dietary and nondietary confounding factors, dietary fiber intake was negatively correlated with BMI (adjusted mean=21.1 kg/m(2) in the lowest and 20.7 kg/m(2) in the highest quintiles; P for trend=0.0007). Conversely, dietary GI and GL were independently positively correlated with BMI (20.8 and 21.2 kg/m(2); P for trend=0.03, and 20.5 and 21.5 kg/m(2); P for trend=0.0005, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Dietary fiber intake showed an independent negative association with BMI, and dietary GI and GL showed an independent positive association with BMI among relatively lean young Japanese women.
Murakami
K
K
Nutritional Epidemiology Program, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Toyama 1-23-1, Shunjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8636, Japan.
Sasaki
S
S
Okubo
H
H
Takahashi
Y
Y
Hosoi
Y
Y
Itabashi
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D038321:Glycemic Index; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012275:Oryza; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires