Association between Carbohydrate Quality Index and general and abdominal obesity in women: a cross-sectional study from Ghana.

Suara SB, Siassi F, Saaka M, Rahimi Foroshani A, Sotoudeh G

BMJ open

Dec 23, 2019

Sources

2 min read

0:00 / 0:00

Sign in to access this feature

Create a free account or sign in to use AI summaries, listen to articles, download PDFs, and save to your library.

1 view

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The relationships between carbohydrate intake and risk of obesity have been widely investigated. However, there are limited data on the associations between their relative proportions and quality contained in the same diet on risk of obesity, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between an overall Carbohydrate Quality Index (CQI) and general and abdominal obesity in women. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In this cross-sectional study, data from 277 women in Ghana were analysed. Dietary information was obtained from 2-day 24 hours dietary recalls. CQI was calculated from the four indices dietary fibre, Glycaemic Index, whole grains/total grains ratio and solid carbohydrates/total carbohydrates ratio. OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and Conicity Index were measured. RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, the chance for general obesity (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.65) and abdominal obesity measured by WC (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.58) were significantly lower in the topmost quintile of CQI in comparison with the lowest quintile. In addition, the OR for higher WHtR (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.69) was significantly lower among participants in the fifth quintile of CQI compared with those in the first quintile. CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrates that there is an inverse association between dietary CQI and both general and abdominal obesity. These findings suggest that CQI may be used for the improvement of dietary intake to prevent obesity.

Affiliation

Department of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, International College, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Tehran, Iran (the Islamic Republic of).