The association of general and central obesity with major dietary patterns of adult women living in Tehran, Iran.

OBJECTIVES: Using a dietary pattern analysis method could provide more information about the nutritional etiology of chronic diseases such as obesity. The aim of this study is to determine the association between major dietary patterns and general and central obesity among adult women living in Tehran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, with 460 women aged 20-50 y. Dietary intake in the previous year was collected by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Weight, height and waist circumstance (WC) were measured with standard methods and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. General obesity was defined as BMI > or = 30 kg/m(2) and central obesity as WC > or = 88 cm. Factor analysis was used for identifying major dietary patterns. The association between major dietary patterns and general and central obesity were assessed by logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: Two major dietary patterns were extracted: "Healthy" and "Unhealthy" dietary patterns. After adjusting for confounders, individuals in the highest quartile of the unhealthy dietary pattern score were more likely to have general (OR=7.33, 95% CI: 2.39-22.51) and central obesity (OR=4.99, 95% CI: 2.08-11.94), whereas, those in the upper quartile of healthy dietary pattern were less likely to have general (OR=0.38, 95% CI: 0.15-0.98) or central obesity (OR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.16-0.71).

CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that a dietary pattern rich in fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and poultry might be negatively associated with obesity. Furthermore our data showed that a dietary pattern high in processed meats, soft drinks, sweets, refined grains, snacks and processed juice might be positively associated with obesity among women aged 20-50 y.