Association of meal-specific protein intake and cardiometabolic risk factors: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the association of main meals' specific protein intake with cardiometabolic risk factors including general and abdominal obesity, serum lipid profile, and blood pressure. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 850 subjects aged 20–59 years. Dietary intakes were assessed by completing three 24-hour recalls and the protein intake of each meal was extracted. Anthropometric measures, lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure was measured. Multivariate logistic regression controlling for age, physical activity, sex, marital status, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), and energy intake was applied to obtain odds ratios (OR) and confidence intervals (CIs). The mean age was 42 years and the mean BMI of the participants was 27.2. The mean protein intake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was 12.5, 22.2, and 18.7 grams/day, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, higher protein intake was not associated with any of the cardiometabolic risk factors including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), body weight, blood pressure (BP), and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), in any of the three main meals consumed within a day. Adherence to a higher protein intake at each meal was not associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in Iranian adults. Further prospective studies are needed to justify our findings.