The Association between Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ) and Obesity: Baseline Data of Kharameh Cohort

Abstract

Obesity is an increasing problem that can lead to noncommunicable diseases. The role of dietary factors on one’s obesity is confirmed in many studies. One nutritional approach that can be used for assessment of the foods and diets is the Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ). Our study is aimed at exploring the association between INQ and obesity. Our hypothesis is that enriched and high-quality diets reduce the risk of overweight or obesity. This study was carried out on 6248 overweight and obese participants, from whom 4356 (69.7%) and 1892 (30.3%) were overweight and obese, respectively. To assess the dietary intake for the participants, a valid food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with 130 food items was utilized. The analysis revealed an inverse association between the overweight and the INQ of iron, thiamin, riboflavin, B6, folate, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C and E. For the obese group, this inverse association was found for iron, B6, folate, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin C and E. These results approved our hypothesis that a rich nutrition diet may lead to a lower risk of obesity.

A Systematized Review of the Relationship Between Obesity and Vitamin C Requirements

“… Jalali et al. [ 14 ] (2022) Iran Prospective cohort 6248 adults aged 40–70 in Kharameh 130-item FFQ Normal weight %RDA: 112 ± 51% Overweight %RDA: 124 ± 52% Obese %RDA: 131 ± 56% Inverse association between risk of obesity and vitamin C intake Park [ 15 ] (2023) Korea Hospital-based cohort 58,701 adults aged >40 y from a large city hospital 106-item semiquantitative FFQ Male, low insulin resistance 107 ± 0.46 Male, high insulin resistance 106 ± 1.22 Female, low insulin resistance 105 ± 0.32 Female, high insulin resistance 99.1 ± 1.22 Vitamin C intakes above 100 mg are protective against insulin resistance. Hantikainen et al.…”

“…In a study conducted on a group of 126 overweight and obese Australian adults, there was a weak inverse correlation between BMI and vitamin C intake ( P = 0.2) [ 33 ]. In a population study from Kharameh province in Iran, data from 6248 participants showed an inverse association between vitamin C adequacy and risk of obesity [ 14 ]. Moreover, in Iran, the vitamin C intake of 812 patients with a BMI >25 attending a medical center was compared with 793 normal-weight subjects selected from their caregivers.…”