Dietary Patterns in Adolescence Are Related to Adiposity in Young Adulthood in Black and White Females2

Abstract

Few studies have systematically used a total diet approach to classify adolescent dietary patterns. We examined dietary patterns in relation to nutrient intakes and adiposity in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study cohort of 2371 black and white girls recruited at 9-10 y of age and followed for 10 y. Serial measurements were obtained for indices of anthropometry, dietary intake, physical activity, and sociodemographic variables. Dietary patterns for the 2 racial subgroups were separately identified by cluster analysis of 40 food groupings derived from 3-d food records. Nutrient intakes and measures of adiposity (BMI, percent body fat, and waist circumference) were compared by dietary pattern. We identified 4 discrete dietary patterns for black and for white adolescents. A Healthy pattern, followed by 12% of white girls and characterized by a high intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains without added fats, mixed dishes and soups, and a low intake of sweetened drinks, other sweets, fried foods, burgers, and pizza, was related to more favorable nutrient intakes and a smaller increase in waist circumference. Among black girls, none of the dietary patterns appeared distinctly advantageous in terms of mitigating increases in adiposity. In conclusion, a cumulative pattern of food intake consistent with recommendations for general health appears to help prevent overweight, but this pattern was followed by only a minority of adolescent girls.

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

“…The samples varied from 196 10 to 14,610 11 individuals, with an average size of 2645.5 (SD = 3849.3) and median of 856. Four studies included only females 10,[12][13][14] . The age at baseline ranged from two 15 to 18 years old 16,17 .…”

“…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.…”

“…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).…”

“…The first study investigated the adherence to habitual DP, snacks DP, meals DP and sweet products and cheese DP by female adolescents and found no relationship with BMI after ten years of follow-up 14 . The second study found that young males who adhered to a DP rich in starch food sources at the age of fifteen had a 30% (p < 0.05) lower chance of being obese five years later 30 .…”