Gender differences in diet quality and the association between diet quality and BMI: an analysis in young Australian adults who completed the Healthy Eating Quiz
Sasha Fenton, Lee M. Ashton, Daniel C. W. Lee, Clare E. Collins
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Many young adults report poor diet quality. However, research evaluating whether young adult males and females differ in diet quality is limited. Additionally, although diet quality has a known inverse association with body mass index (BMI), it is unclear whether this association is observed in young adults and whether it varies by gender. The present study aimed to evaluate gender differences in diet quality in young adults, as well as the associations between diet quality and BMI.
Methods
Data collected via the Healthy Eating Quiz (HEQ) in respondents aged 18–35 years between July 2019 and December 2021 were analysed, including demographics, and diet quality calculated using the Australian Recommended Food Score (ARFS). Differences in characteristics were analysed using a two-sample t-test, chi-squared and one-way analysis of covariance. Linear regressions were performed to estimate associations between diet quality and BMI. An interaction term was included in the model to test differences between genders.
Results
The respondents (n = 28,969) were predominantly female (70.8%) with a mean ± SD age of 25.9 ± 5.0 years and BMI of 24.6 ± 5.2 kg/m2. The mean ± SD ARFS was significantly different between females and males (33.1 ± 8.6 vs. 31.4 ± 9.3 points out of 70; p < 0.001). Diet quality had a small, significant inverse association with BMI in both genders. The interaction effect between diet quality score and gender in predicting BMI was significant (p < 0.001), suggesting the impact of diet quality on BMI varies by gender, with lower diet quality more strongly associated with higher BMI in females compared to males.
Conclusion
Interventions that target young adults are needed to improve diet quality and its potential contribution to BMI status. As a result of the small observed effect sizes, caution should be applied in interpreting these findings.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing papers in applied nutrition and dietetics. Papers are therefore welcomed on:
- Clinical nutrition and the practice of therapeutic dietetics
- Clinical and professional guidelines
- Public health nutrition and nutritional epidemiology
- Dietary surveys and dietary assessment methodology
- Health promotion and intervention studies and their effectiveness
- Obesity, weight control and body composition
- Research on psychological determinants of healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour. Focus can for example be on attitudes, brain correlates of food reward processing, social influences, impulsivity, cognitive control, cognitive processes, dieting, psychological treatments.
- Appetite, Food intake and nutritional status
- Nutrigenomics and molecular nutrition
- The journal does not publish animal research
The journal is published in an online-only format. No printed issue of this title will be produced but authors will still be able to order offprints of their own articles.