Dietary patterns are associated with body mass index and bone mineral density in Chinese freshmen.
OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to examine associations between dietary patterns and body mass index (BMI) and bone mineral density (BMD) in Chinese freshmen.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was done in 1319 college freshmen (aged 18.1 ± 1.2 years old). Diet was assessed by using a validated self-administrated food-frequency questionnaire. Blood pressure, weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured and bone measurements were done using Quantitative Ultrasound System.


RESULTS
Four dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis: Western food, animal protein, calcium food, and Chinese traditional patterns. The prevalence of overweight/obesity and osteopenia/osteoporosis were 8.2% (108/1319) and 28.1% (371/1319). The highest tertile of Western food pattern scores had greater odds of overweight/obesity (highest vs. lowest tertile, odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-3.22), and the highest tertile of Chinese traditional pattern scores had lower risk of overweight/obesity (highest vs. lowest tertile, OR = 0.65, 95% CI, 0.53-0.80) in an adjusted model. The calcium food pattern and Chinese traditional pattern were negatively associated with the risk of osteopenia/osteoporosis (highest vs. lowest tertile, OR = 0.59, 95% CI, 0.41-0.87; OR = 0.78, 95% CI, 0.55-0.89) after adjusting for confounders.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested that there was a positive correlation between Chinese traditional dietary pattern and healthy BMI and BMD and that this same association existed between calcium food pattern and BMD in Chinese freshmen. In contrast, the Western-style diet was negatively correlated with healthy BMI in Chinese freshmen.
a Department of Nutrition , Anhui Medical University , Hefei Province , PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
Min
M
Mu
Su-Fang
SF
Wang
Jie
J
Sheng
Yan
Y
Zhao
Guo-Xiu
GX
Wang
Kai-Yong
KY
Liu
Chuan-Lai
CL
Hu
Fang-Biao
FB
Tao
Hai-Lin
HL
Wang
D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D015519:Bone Density / Q000502:physiology*; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055105:Waist Circumference / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
body mass index (BMI); bone mineral density (BMD); dietary pattern; freshmen