Carbohydrate nutrition and development of adiposity during adolescence

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prospective association between glycemic index, glycemic load (GL) of diets and intakes of carbohydrates, sugars, fiber, and the main carbohydrate containing food groups (e.g., soft drinks) with changes in percent body fat, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference among adolescents. Design and Methods: Students aged 12 at baseline (n ¼ 856) were examined both in 2004-2005 and 2009-2011. A semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered. Anthropometric parameters were measured and defined using standardized protocols. Results: After multivariable adjustment, in girls, each 1-SD increase in dietary GL was associated with concurrent 0.77 kg/m 2 and 1.45 cm increase in BMI and waist circumference, respectively (both P ¼ 0.01). Conversely, each 1-SD increase in dietary fiber intake was associated with a concurrent 0.44 kg/ m 2 decrease in mean BMI in girls (P ¼ 0.02) and 1.45 cm decrease in waist circumference in boys (P ¼ 0.002). Girls who consumed soft drinks once or more per day versus those who never/rarely consumed soft drinks, had a 4.45% increase in percent body fat after 5 years (P trend ¼ 0.01). Conclusions: High-GL foods might adversely influence development of body composition, particularly in girls, whereas fiber-rich diets could limit excess weight during adolescence.

Diet and body fat in adolescence and early adulthood: a systematic review of longitudinal studies

“…by six studies 10,12,19,[21][22][23] , specific food (sugar-sweetened beverages, soft drink, fast food, etc.) by seven 11,[16][17][18][24][25][26] , macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat) by three 15,27,28 , total energy intake by one 29 , dietary index by one 13 and DP by three investigations 14,20,30 . The tools used for estimating food consumption were the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in ten studies [10][11][12]19,22,25,26,[28][29][30] , food record (FR) in nine [14][15][16][17]20,21,23,27 and 24-hour recall (R24h) in three studies 12,18,24 .…”

“…The BF outcome was evaluated based on BMI in fifteen studies 10,11,[14][15][16][17][18][19]22,23,25,26,[28][29][30] , %BF in thirteen [10][11][12][13][14][16][17][18]21,24,26,28,29 , BF kg in two 23,25 , FMI or AI in two 20,27 and skinfold -tricipital (TS) and subscapular (SS) -thickness in one study 15 . Analyzed at in young adulthood.…”

“…According to the authors, this eating habit increases the BMI in this age group by 0.08 kg/m 2 (95%CI, 0.03 to 0.14). In Australia girls, Gopinath et al 28 found that each 1SD increase in a dietary glycemic load was associated with 0.77 kg/m 2 increase in BMI (p < 0.01) five years later; in addition, each 1SD increase in a dietary fiber intake was associated with 0.44 kg/ m 2 decrease (p < 0.02) in BMI. Similarly, results from the Dortmund Nutritional Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study showed that sugar-sweetened beverages and regular soft drink consumption during adolescence increased BMI Z score by 0.07 (p = 0.01) and 0.1 (p = 0.01), respectively, in females during early adulthood.…”

“…The FMI proposed by Assmann et al 27 used the equation: %BF*body mass/100. Out of twelve studies that evaluated %BF, five used electric bioimpedance 10,12,18,28,29 , five Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) 11,13,21,24,26 while the remaining studies used skinfold thickness for estimating this body component 14 Measured at baseline (9-18 years of age) and at the final visit (5 years afterwards).…”

“…Of the 21 studies that evaluated the relationship between diet and BF, only ten found evidence of an association [11][12][13]17,20,[25][26][27][28]30 . The findings of these studies will be described in the following sections, according to the method used for estimating body fat.…”