Dose–Response Relationship between Western Diet and Being Overweight among Teachers in Malaysia

Abstract

The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity is partly due to nutrition transition. The reported association between dietary patterns and overweight/obesity has been controversial because of inconsistent results and weak observed associations. Although it has been hypothesized that an unhealthy diet can increase obesity risk, none of the previous studies have examined the dose–response association using nonlinear dose–response analyses. This study aimed to examine the dose–response association between major dietary patterns and overweight/obesity. This was a cross-sectional study involving teachers selected through stratified multistage sampling from public schools in three Malaysian states. Dietary intake was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire, and two major dietary patterns (Western and Prudent diet) were extracted using factor analysis. Logistic regression followed by trend analysis was used to test the difference in odds of overweight and obesity in each quintile of diet score. A further analysis using restricted cubic spline models was performed to examine the dose–response associations of dietary patterns with odds of overweight/obesity. The logistic regression analysis showed that participants with the highest quintile of Western diet score were 1.4 times more likely to be overweight/obese compared to those in the lowest quintile (95% CI: 1.11, 1.83, p-trend < 0.001). The odds of overweight/obesity showed a significant increasing trend across quintiles of Western diet among both men and women (p-trend < 0.001). In the dose–response analysis, a positive linear association (Pnonlinearity = 0.6139) was observed where overweight/obesity was more likely to occur among participants with a Western diet score greater than a mean score of zero. There was an inverse trend of odds of overweight/obesity across quintiles of Prudent diet score, significant only for men (p for trend < 0.001). Linear association was found between Prudent diet score and odds of overweight/obesity among both men (Pnonlinearity = 0.6685) and women (Pnonlinearity = 0.3684) in the dose–response analysis. No threshold at the level of adherence to Prudent diet was linked to odds of overweight/obesity. Dose–response analysis indicated that women with a Western diet score greater than zero were more likely to be overweight or obese among women. In men, higher adherence to Western diet was associated with increased odds of overweight/obesity, while greater adherence to Prudent diet decreased the odds of overweight/obesity. Promoting and enhancing the consumption of Prudent diet and limit in Western diet may be used to guide the development of evidence-based diet interventions to curb overweight and obesity.

Dietary patterns and their association with cardiovascular risk factors in Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

“…The finding regarding the relationship between western dietary pattern and obesity was supported by various studies ( 2 , 13 , 47 ). Compliance with the western diet is associated with higher energy intake, which accounts for weight gain and increased risk of obesity ( 50 , 51 ). With a further look at the positive association between the traditional dietary pattern and obesity, we noted that the proportion of obesity was not higher for the third tertile (23%), but it was for the second tertile (51%), both compared to the first tertile (26%) showing this association was not straight forward.…”

A mixture of glyphosate and 2,4‐D herbicides enhances the deleterious reproductive outcomes induced by Western diet in obese male mice

“…(1) induced sperm cell abnormalities, (2) reduced the number, volume, and area of Leydig cells, (3) enhanced the frequency of epididymal abnormalities, (4) decreased the proliferation in both germinal and epididymal epithelia, (5) and reduced the number of AR + epididymal cells.…”

“…There are accumulating epidemiological studies and meta-analyses postulating the positive correlation between the western diet (WD)featuring a high consumption of saturated fat-, cholesterol-, and carbohydrate-enriched foodsand a higher risk of overweight and obesity. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Both overweight and obesity are considered worldwide growing public health concerns. In the United States (US), where 37% of the adult population eats fast food once a day, obesity prevalence increased from 30.5% to 41.9% in 2020.…”

“…There are accumulating epidemiological studies and meta‐analyses postulating the positive correlation between the western diet (WD) – featuring a high consumption of saturated fat‐, cholesterol‐, and carbohydrate‐enriched foods – and a higher risk of overweight and obesity 1–6 . Both overweight and obesity are considered worldwide growing public health concerns.…”

“…These mixtures not only promoted WD-mediated effects but exceeded the effects of herbicide controls (G2 and G3). The herbicide mixtures promoted: (1) an increase in the frequency of sperm cell and epididymal abnormalities (G12 and G13); (2) a decrease in Leydig cell nuclei volume and area (G12 and G13), (3) a reduction in serum testosterone levels (G12 and G13), (4) in epididymal cell proliferation (G11-G13),(5) and in AR expression (G13). Different mechanisms are proposed to explain the deleterious effects of herbicides on male fertility.…”