Association between carbohydrate intake and body composition: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Sex and Diet-Related Disparities in Low Handgrip Strength among Young and Middle-Aged Koreans: Findings Based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) from 2014 to 2017

“Possible sarcopenia” may be defined as a low muscle strength assessed by handgrip strength (HGS) by sex. We examined the sex-specific association between low handgrip strength (LGS) and dietary factors for the prevention of sarcopenia in young and middle-aged Koreans. We used data from the 2014–2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 11,635 Korean adults with LGS and normal handgrip strength (NGS). The relationship between dietary factors, e.g., nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns, and HGS was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. In men, the LGS group had a higher proportion of energy from carbohydrates and a lower proportion of energy from proteins than the NGS group. The LGS group had lower protein, niacin, phosphorus, and iron densities in their diet than the NGS group. The odds of having LGS increased as intake of vitamin B1 (odds ratio (OR) 2.916, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.265–6.719), niacin (OR 2.286, 95% CI 1.095–4.774), phosphorus (OR 2.731, 95% CI 1.036–7.199), and iron (OR 2.591, 95% CI 1.102–6.088) decreased. In women with LGS, the odds of insufficient protein intake (OR 1.976, 95% CI 1.248–3.127) was significantly higher. This study suggests that adequate intake of protein, vitamin B1, niacin, phosphorus, and iron is beneficial for maintaining HGS.

Interaction of MC4R rs17782313 variants and dietary carbohydrate quantity and quality on basal metabolic rate and general and central obesity in overweight/obese women: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have shown that dietary carbohydrate quantity and quality as well as genetic variants may contribute to determining the metabolic rate and general and central obesity. This study aimed to examine interactions between melanocortin 4 receptor gene (MC4R) rs17782313 and dietary carbohydrate intake, glycemic index (GI), and glycemic load (GL) on body mass index (BMI), waist circumferences (WC), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and BMR/kg in overweight/obese women.

METHODS

A total of 282 Iranian women (BMI ≥ 25) aged 18-56 years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. All participants were assessed for blood parameters, body composition, BMR, and dietary intake. Dietary carbohydrate intake, GI, and GL were determined using a valid, reliable 147-item food frequency questionnaire. MC4R rs17782313 was genotyped by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method.

RESULTS

After adjustment for age and energy intake, significant interactions were observed between carbohydrate intake and MC4R rs17782313 in terms of BMI (P Interaction = 0.007), WC (P Interaction = 0.02), and BMR/kg (P Interaction = 0.003) in this way that higher carbohydrate intake, compared with lower intake, was associated with an increase in BMI and WC for individuals with C allele carriers (TC + CC genotypes), while related to an increase in BMR/kg for those carrying the TT genotype. No significant interaction was found between MC4R rs17782313 and GI and GL on BMI, WC, BMR/kg, and BMR.

CONCLUSIONS

Interactions between the MC4R rs17782313 and carbohydrate intake probably can have an effect on BMI, WC, and BMR/kg in overweight/obese women.

Relationships of Physical Activity and Diet Quality with Body Composition and Fat Distribution in US Adults

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the relationships among physical activity (PA), diet quality, body composition, and fat distribution in a representative sample of US adults.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using publicly accessible data from the 2011 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Food Patterns Equivalents Database (n = 7,423). Variables from the data sets were analyzed for this study, including PA, two 24-hour dietary recalls, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry outputs.

RESULTS

For men, PA and diet quality were inversely associated with the percentage of body fat (β = -0.0042, 95% CI: -0.0084 to -0.0001; β = -0.28, 95% CI: -0.42 to -0.14) and fat mass index (β = -0.0125, 95% CI: -0.0209 to -0.0041; β = -0.56, 95% CI: -0.81 to -0.32); meeting the PA recommendation and having good diet quality provided an additive effect on body fat. A similar pattern was observed in women. Additionally, diet quality was inversely associated with all fat distribution measures in both sexes, whereas PA was positively associated with lean mass measures in men only.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased PA and/or better diet quality were associated with reduced body fat, a healthier fat distribution, and increased lean mass. Further research examining how changes in PA or diet quality influence body composition and fat distribution in adults is warranted.

Dietary Intake, D3Cr Muscle Mass, and Appendicular Lean Mass in a Cohort of Older Men

BACKGROUND

We examined cross-sectional associations between dietary patterns, macronutrient intake, and measures of muscle mass and lean mass in older men.

METHODS

Participants in the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) cohort (n = 903; mean ± SD age 84.2 ± 4 years) completed brief Block food frequency questionnaires (May 2014-May 2016); factor analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. The D3-creatine (D3Cr) dilution method was used to measure muscle mass; dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure appendicular lean mass (ALM). Generalized linear models were used to report adjusted means of outcomes by dietary pattern. Multiple linear regression models were used to determine associations between macronutrients and D3Cr muscle mass and DXA ALM. Multivariable models were adjusted for age, race, clinic site, education, depression, total energy intake, height, and percent body fat.

RESULTS

Greater adherence to a Western dietary pattern (high factor loadings for red meat, fried foods, and high-fat dairy) was associated with higher D3Cr muscle mass (p-trend = .026). Adherence to the Healthy dietary pattern (high factor loadings for fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats) was not associated with D3Cr muscle mass or DXA ALM. Total protein (β = 0.09, 95% CI = 0.03, 0.14) and nondairy animal protein (β = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.21) were positively associated with D3Cr muscle mass. Nondairy animal protein (β = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.002, 0.11) was positively associated with DXA ALM. Associations with other macronutrients were inconsistent.

CONCLUSIONS

Nondairy animal protein intake (within a Western dietary pattern and alone) was positively associated with D3Cr muscle mass in older men.

Sex- and age-specific effects of energy intake and physical activity on sarcopenia

Sarcopenia is a common health issue that is not limited to only elderly patients. However, many studies have reported factors to prevent sarcopenia only in susceptible groups. This study evaluates the relationship of the total energy intake to basal metabolic rate ratio (EI/BMR) and physical activity (PA) with sarcopenia. A second aim was to analyze the interaction between EI/BMR and PA by sex and age. We analyzed 16,313 subjects aged ≥ 19 years who had dual‒energy X-ray absorptiometry data. Sarcopenia was defined as appendicular lean mass/weight (%) that was 1 standard deviation below the sex-specific mean value for a young reference group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the interaction between EI/BMR and PA. In this study, as EI/BMR increased, the risk of sarcopenia decreased, particularly in the older groups. Both high PA and high EI/BMR were independently related to the reduced risk of sarcopenia and showed additive effects on reducing the risk in young male and older groups. However, high PA was associated with an increased risk of sarcopenia in the young female group with low energy intake. Our findings suggest that an adequate balance between energy intake and PA is related to a low risk of sarcopenia, especially in young females.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Measure Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Korean Adults

The Mediterranean diet (MD) has beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and mortality. Although various attempts have been made for estimating adherence to the MD using diet quality indices, few studies involving validated questionnaires for estimating adherence have been performed in Asian populations. We aimed to develop and validate the Korean version of the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (K-MEDAS) by including 211 participants that visited health check-up centers and 116 participants with overweight or hypercholesterolemia that visited obesity clinic. The participants completed both the K-MEDAS and a 106-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). We translated 13 questions and developed 1 question. Considering the agreement between the K-MEDAS and FFQ, nine of the 14 questions showed moderate or high kappa values (≥0.4). The total MD scores measured by the K-MEDAS and FFQ showed substantial concordance (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.678, 95% confidence interval: 0.520, 0.785). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant inverse associations between MD score and the levels of serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, after adjusting for confounding variables. We found that K-MEDAS is valid tool for assessing adherence to the MD in the Korean population.