Effect of the dietary inflammatory potential on the trajectory of body adiposity in a Brazilian cohort of university students

Abstract

Objectives University students are vulnerable to unhealthy eating habits that characterize a proinflammatory diet. This study aimed to estimate the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and its association with the trajectory of body adiposity markers in university students. Methods The study analyzed data from 685 students entering a Brazilian public university in 2016 and 2017 and followed until 2018. DII was estimated from 39 dietary parameters obtained by 24‐h dietary recall. Body adiposity was assessed by anthropometric markers and the percentage of body fat. Linear mixed‐effects models were used to estimate the trajectory of adiposity markers according to DII tertiles. Results After adjustment for confounding variables, at baseline, DII showed a positive association with increased percentage of body fat among men (β = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.01; 1.03) and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR; β = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.12; 0.18) and among women with all body adiposity markers: BMI (β = 0.68; 95% CI: 0.30; 1.05), percentage of body fat (β = 1.43; 95% CI: 0.74; 2.11), WC (β = 1.15; 95% CI: 0.41; 1.89) and WHtR (β = 0.13; 95% CI:0,10; 0.16). The rate of change of the outcome variables over time was not associated with DII at baseline. Conclusions The diet of university students in this Brazilian cohort study was characterized as proinflammatory and it was associated with body adiposity markers.

Association between inflammatory potential of diet and anthropometric indicators of adiposity among a sample of Turkish university

“…This association in literature was prominent especially for abdominal obesity indicators such as WC and WHR (de Souza et al, 2023;Ariya et al, 2020; , 2016). In a cohort of Brazilian university students, after adjustments at baseline, the DII score showed a positive association with increased WC among women (de Souza et al, 2023). Similarly, in a study conducted with Spanish adults, it was shown that individuals in the highest proinflammatory category (last quintile), also had the highest WC values.…”

“…Similarly, in a study conducted with Spanish adults, it was shown that individuals in the highest proinflammatory category (last quintile), also had the highest WC values. The association aforementioned in both men and women was the strongest compared to the associations between other anthropometric traits and the most proinflammatory diet (de Souza et al. , 2023).…”

“…, 2015). This association in literature was prominent especially for abdominal obesity indicators such as WC and WHR (de Souza et al. , 2023; Ariya et al.…”

“…, 2016). In a cohort of Brazilian university students, after adjustments at baseline, the DII score showed a positive association with increased WC among women (de Souza et al. , 2023).…”

“…, 2018); whereas the median DII score in this study was 1.39 and ranged between −2.97 and 4.75. Studies conducted with Brazilian university students and Spanish adults found the overall mean DII score was 0.51 (de Souza et al. , 2023) and 0.29 (Correa-Rodriguez et al.…”