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Patterns of dietary habits in relation to obesity in Iranian adults

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Abstract

Purpose

Findings from few studies that investigated the relation between dietary behaviors and obesity are inconsistent. We aimed to assess the relation between patterns of dietary habits, identified by latent class analysis (LCA), and obesity in a large sample of Iranian adults.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study on 7958 adults, dietary behaviors were assessed in five domains (meal patterns, eating rate, intra-meal fluid intake, meal-to-sleep interval, and fatty foods intake) using a pretested questionnaire. LCA was applied to identify classes of diet-related practices. Anthropometric measures were assessed through the use of a validated self-reported questionnaire. General and abdominal obesity were defined as a body mass index ≥30 kg/m2, and a waist circumference ≥88 cm for women and ≥102 cm for men.

Results

General and abdominal obesity were prevalent in 9.7 and 27.7 % of the study population, respectively. We identified three distinct classes of eating rates (moderate, moderate to slow, and moderate to fast), two classes of meal patterns (regular and irregular), two classes of intra-meal fluid intake (moderate and more intra-meal drinking), three classes of meal-to-sleep interval (short, moderate, and long meal-to-sleep interval), and three classes of fatty food intake (low to moderate, moderate to high, and low intake of fatty foods). After adjustment for potential confounders, individuals with ‘irregular meal pattern’ were 21, 24, and 22 % more likely to be overweight/obese, abdominally overweight/obese, and abdominally obese, compared with those who had a ‘regular meal pattern.’ Individuals with ‘more intra-meal drinking’ had greater odds of overweight (OR 1.37; 1.19–1.458) and obesity (OR 1.51; 1.16–1.97) than those with ‘moderate intra-meal drinking.’ Moderate-to-high intake of fatty foods was inversely associated with abdominally overweight/obese (OR 0.85; 0.73–1.00) and abdominally obesity (OR 0.80; 0.68–0.96) compared with ‘low-to-moderate intake of fatty foods.’ No significant association was observed between eating rate, meal-to-sleep interval, and general or abdominal obesity, after controlling for confounders.

Conclusion

Irregular meal pattern and more intra-meal drinking were associated with increased odds of general and abdominal obesity, whereas moderate-to-high intake of fatty foods was related to the decreased odds of central obesity among Iranian adults.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all staff of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences who kindly participated in our study and staff of Public Relations Unit, and other authorities of IUMS for their excellent cooperation. This study was supported by a grant from the Vice Chancellery for Research and Technology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran. The financial support for conception, design, data analysis, and manuscript drafting comes from Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Conflict of interest

None of the authors had any personal or financial conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food Security Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Parvane Saneei & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  2. Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutrition and Food Science, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Parvane Saneei & Ahmad Esmaillzadeh

  3. Students’ Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Parvane Saneei

  4. Integrative Functional Gastroenterology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli & Peyman Adibi

  5. CEGIIR-Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada

    Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    Awat Feizi

  7. Centre of Research Excellence in Translating, Nutritional Science to Good Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

    Christine Feinle-Bisset

Authors
  1. Parvane Saneei
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  2. Ahmad Esmaillzadeh
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Correspondence to Ammar Hassanzadeh Keshteli.

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Saneei, P., Esmaillzadeh, A., Keshteli, A.H. et al. Patterns of dietary habits in relation to obesity in Iranian adults. Eur J Nutr 55, 713–728 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0891-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0891-4

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