title: Diet and adipose tissue distributions: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dietary quality affects cardiometabolic risk, yet its pathways of influence on regional adipose tissue depots involved in metabolic and diabetes risk are not well established. We aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary quality and regional adiposity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We investigated 5079 individuals in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) who had food-frequency questionnaires and measurement of pericardial fat and hepatic attenuation at the baseline study visit in MESA, as well as a subgroup with imaging for visceral and subcutaneous fat (N = 1390). A dietary quality score (DietQuality) was constructed to include established food group constituents of a Mediterranean-type diet. Linear models estimated associations of dietary score as well as its constituents with regional adiposity. Baseline mean age was 61 (± 10) years, and approximately half of the participants (47%) were male. Those with a higher DietQuality score were generally older, female, with a lower body mass index, C-reactive protein, and markers of insulin resistance. After adjustment, a higher DietQuality score was associated with lower visceral fat (lowest vs. highest dietary score quartile: 523.6 vs. 460.5 cm(2)/m; P < 0.01 for trend), pericardial fat (47.5 vs. 41.3 cm(3)/m; P < 0.01 for trend), lesser hepatic steatosis (by hepatic attenuation; 58.6 vs. 60.7 Hounsfield units; P < 0.01 for trend), but not subcutaneous fat (P = 0.39). Greater fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds/nuts and yogurt intake were associated with decreased adiposity, while red/processed meats were associated with greater regional adiposity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A higher quality diet pattern is associated with less regional adiposity, suggesting a potential mechanism of beneficial dietary effects on diabetes, metabolic, and cardiovascular risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: rshah1@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine Division), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Radiology (Nuclear Medicine Division), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Electronic address: vlmurthy@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Medicine, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Budoff
authors.affiliation: USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Frazier-Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: J A C
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Steffen
authors.affiliation: University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siscovick
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts at Lowell School of Public Health, Lowell, MA, USA.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Danielson
authors.affiliation: Noninvasive Cardiovascular Imaging Section, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jerosch-Herold
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: darius.mozaffarian@tufts.edu.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mozaffarian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D050151:Subcutaneous Fat / Q000378:metabolism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: Adiposity; Body mass index; Diet; Inflammation; Obesity