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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 5, 404-413 (2004)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Associations between Food Variety and Body Fatness in Hong Kong Chinese Adults

Mandy Man-Mei Sea, MPhil, Jean Woo, MD, Peter Chun-Yip Tong, PhD, Chun-Chung Chow, MBBS and Juliana Chun-Ngan Chan, MD

Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Centre for Nutritional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, HONG KONG

Address reprint requests to: Professor Jean Woo, M.D., F.R.A.C.P., Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., HONG KONG. E-mail: jeanwoowong{at}cuhk.edu.hk

Background: Food variety is reported to be closely associated with body fatness in Caucasians. The association has not been examined in a Chinese population.

Objective: To examine the association between food variety and body fatness in Hong Kong Chinese adults.

Design: One hundred and twenty Hong Kong Chinese adults (aged 18–50 y). Usual dietary intake over a one-week period of all subjects was assessed by using a food frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric parameters were measured using standardized methods.

Results: Varieties of grain and meat were negatively correlated with obesity indices (grain vs. BMI/body fat/waist/hip circumferences: partial r = –47/–0.43/–0.46/–0.42, p < 0.001; meat vs. BMI/body fat/waist/hip circumferences: partial r = –0.31/–0.24/–0.25/–0.29, p < 0.01). In contrast, there was a positive relationship between variety of snack and obesity indices (snack vs. BMI/body fat/waist/hip circumferences: partial r = 0.35/0.42/0.42/0.36, p < 0.001). A food variety ratio derived from varieties of snack, grain and meat, was a stronger predictor of body fat compared with dietary fat in a regression model.

Conclusion: Food variety may contribute to the local escalation in the prevalence of obesity. The variety of snack is the promoting factor for obesity while the variety of grains and meats may counteract its development. The findings of this study may have implications for treatment of obesity and the prevention of further weight gain.

Key words: food variety, snack, grain, meat, obesity, Chinese






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