(09-11-11) Dietary Fiber and Nutrient Density Are Inversely Associated with the Metabolic Syndrome in US Adolescents.

Carlson JJ, Eisenmann JC, Norman GJ, Ortiz KA, Young PC.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
There is no consensus as to whether low dietary intakes of saturated fat or
cholesterol, or high intakes of dietary fiber are related to a lower prevalence
of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescent children.

OBJECTIVE:
To determine whether a fiber-rich diet as measured by a fiber index (grams
fiber/1,000 kcal) is associated with lower rates of MetS among adolescents vs a
diet low in saturated fat or cholesterol as measured by a saturated fat index
(grams saturated fat/1,000 kcal) and a cholesterol index (milligrams
cholesterol/1,000 kcal), respectively. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Cross-
sectional analysis of 12- to 19-year-old boys and girls (N=2,128) who
participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002.
OUTCOMES AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES: The prevalence of MetS (abnormal values of
three or more of the following: waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting
serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose) was
compared across quintiles of the dietary indexes (fiber index, saturated fat
index, and cholesterol index) derived from 24-hour recalls. ??(2) tests
determined the prevalence across dietary quintiles, and multivariate logistic
regression evaluated the association of the dietary indexes with MetS. Weighted
analyses were used controlling for sex, age, ethnicity, and family income.
Significance was set at P??0.05.

RESULTS:
The overall prevalence of MetS was 6.4% (n=138). There was a graded inverse
association between the fiber index and MetS (P<0.001) with a threefold
difference between the lowest and highest quintiles (9.2% vs 3.1%). Each
quintile increase in the fiber index was associated with a ??20% decrease in
MetS (adjusted odds ratio 0.83, 95% confidence interval 0.68-1.00; P??0.043).
Neither the saturated fat index (P=0.87) nor the cholesterol index (P=0.22) was
significantly associated with MetS.

CONCLUSIONS:
Higher intakes of dietary fiber, but not low intakes of saturated fat or
cholesterol are related to the MetS in adolescents. These findings suggest that
to reduce the risks for MetS in adolescents, it is more important to emphasize
a paradigm that promotes the inclusion of fiber-rich, nutrient-dense, plant-
based foods vs what foods to restrict or exclude as is commonly done when the
focus is on total fat, cholesterol, or saturated fat intake.

Source: J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Nov;111(11):1688-95.

News

---

In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.