Relationships between the inflammatory potential of the diet, aging and anthropometric measurements in a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about associations between dietary inflammation, age and anthropometric measurements.

OBJECTIVE: In this regard, we examine how DII is related to age, anthropometrics [weight, Body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR)] and other parameters of nutrition (energy, protein, fats and cholesterol intake, Net Endogenous Acid Production (NEAP) and Phytochemical Index (PI)) in a cross-sectional study in Pakistan.

DESIGN: Only men ( n  = 651, age 54-95 years) participated in the study. Anthropometric data were collected using standard methods. DII was calculated from nutrients derived from 24-hr Dietary Recall questionnaires. NEAP and PI were calculated by established algorithms using information on nutrient intake.

RESULTS: The results show that with increasing age, there was a significant increase in the DII score ( p  < 0.05). Similarly significant positive correlations were found between DII score and weight, BMI, WHR and % BF ( p , for all trends < 0.05). DII score significantly positively correlated with the dietary factors studied i.e. energy, protein, and fats ( p , for all trends < 0.0001) but non-significantly with cholesterol ( p  > 0.05). Similarly, a significant positive correlation with NEAP ( p  < 0.0001) was found, but negative with PI ( p  < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the present study shows direct positive correlations between the DII, age and indices of obesity, and thus supports the hypothesis that diet may have a role in the development of obesity through inflammatory modulation mechanisms in elderly.