Soy Isoflavones Intake and Obesity in Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in Shanghai, China

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the association of soy isoflavones (SI) intake with different body measurements indicative of obesity in Chinese adults of Shanghai, a population consuming foods rich in SI. This study used baseline data from the Shanghai Gaofeng cohort study. SI intake was measured by using a self-reported food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). A restricted cubic spline (RCS) was performed to examine the possible nonlinear relationship of SI intake with obesity. A logistic regression model was applied to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Compared with the lowest tertile group of SI intake, the highest tertile group had a lower prevalence of obesity and central obesity. The OR for overall obesity was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.85, 0.98) in the highest versus the lowest SI tertile group; the associations differed by sex and menopausal status. A negative association was also observed between SI intake and central obesity, and a significant modifying effect of sex was found on the association. No significant interactions were observed between SI intake and physical activity (PA) levels. Our results suggest that Chinese adults with higher dietary intake of SI may be less likely to be obese, particularly for postmenopausal women.

Traditional and Domestic Cooking Dramatically Reduce Estrogenic Isoflavones in Soy Foods

“…As the exact step for potential IFs removal was unknown, the processes were analyzed step by step to determine their impacts on the concentration of these two major estrogenic IFs. The results should indicate that traditional exposure to IFs in Asia is not as high as suggested by recent data [15,16] which established the IFs exposure at a median of 13.5 mg/day in China and at 21.4 mg/day in Japan.…”

Influence of Nutritional Intakes in Japan and the United States on COVID-19 Infection

“…A negative association was also observed between soy isoflavone intake and central obesity [ 45 ]. The prevention of obesity by soy isoflavones has also been confirmed in a Chinese population [ 46 ]. Together with anti-viral effects [ 47 ], isoflavonoids are potential candidate inhibitors against the COVID-19 receptor ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) and COVID-19 protease [ 47 ].…”

“…These conditions were each associated with an increased in-hospital case fatality rate ranging from 1% to 56% [ 75 ]. In addition, the Japanese diet contains many more functional substances that prevent COVID-19 infection, including fish fatty acids (EPA/DHA) [ 42 , 43 ], soybean isoflavones [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], seaweed components (fucoidan, porphyrin, fucoxanthin, fucosterol) [ 48 , 49 ], green tea (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ], and rice oryzanol and GABA [ 54 , 55 ]. Thus, the nearly 10-times greater prevalence of obesity in the U.S. than in Japan ( Figure 3 ) is induced by the U.S. diet ( Figure 8 and Figure 9 ), and the low incidence and mortality due to COVID-19 in Japan can be partly attributed to the protective effects of the many functional substances in Japanese foods.…”

Urinary Antibiotics and Bile Acid Homeostasis in Chinese Adults

“…We conducted a cross-sectional study in the adults who participated in the baseline survey of the Shanghai Gaofeng Cohort Study (SGCS) in Shanghai, East China. Details of SGCS have been provided in previous reports. , A multistage, stratified, clustered sampling method was used to select the participants from four administrative districts of Shanghai, including Xuhui, Minhang, Songjiang, and Jiading. During the baseline survey, a total of 67,395 adults aged 20 to 74 were recruited into the SGCS.…”