AUTHOR=Vahid Farhad , Rahmani Wena , Davoodi Sayed Hossein , Bohn Torsten 

TITLE=The micronutrient content of the diet is correlated with serum glucose biomarkers and lipid profile and is associated with the odds of being overweight/obese—a case-control study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1148183

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2023.1148183

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>A low micronutrient intake has been reported to contribute to the double-burden of obesity, increasing the risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental disorders. This case-control study compared micronutrient intake profiles in overweight/obese vs. normal-weight individuals. We hypothesized that a low intake of certain micronutrients would increase the odds of being overweight/obese.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The case group (<italic>n</italic> = 812 adults) consisted of individuals with a BMI of ≥25  kg/m<sup>2</sup>, and the control group (<italic>n</italic> = 793) had BMIs of 17.9–24.9  kg/m<sup>2</sup>. A validated 124-item food frequency questionnaire was used to determine micronutrient-related dietary-quality, using the index of nutritional quality (INQ), calculated as the fraction of a micronutrient consumed vs. its dietary requirement. In addition, body surface area (BSA) was calculated according to the Mosteller formula.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The control group had significantly higher INQ-scores of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and selenium compared to the case group. Furthermore, individuals with normal BSA (≤1.91 m<sup>2</sup> for men; ≤1.71  m<sup>2</sup> for women) had significantly higher INQ scores of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, and zinc compared to participants with high BSA. In multivariable adjustment regression models, INQs of vitamin C (OR<sub>BMI</sub> = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.64–0.97; OR<sub>BSA</sub> = 0.81, 95%CI, 0.68–0.97) and magnesium (OR<sub>BMI</sub> = 0.69, 95%CI: 0.47–0.99; OR<sub>BSA</sub> = 0.71, 95%CI: 0.52–0.97) were significantly associated with the odds of obesity/overweight (in both BMI and BSA categories).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The significant association between micronutrient levels of the diet, especially of vitamin C and magnesium, with both obesity criteria, emphasized the importance of certain micronutrients in the obesity/overweight causal network.</p></sec>