Gender Difference on the Association between Dietary Patterns and Obesity in Chinese Middle-Aged and Elderly Populations

Abstract

Dietary patterns are linked to obesity, but the gender difference in the association between dietary patterns and obesity remains unclear. We explored this gender difference in a middle-aged and elderly populations in Shanghai. Residents ( n = 2046; aged ≥45 years; 968 men and 1078 women) who participated in the Shanghai Food Consumption Survey were studied. Factor analysis of data from four periods of 24-h dietary recalls (across 2012–2014) identified dietary patterns. Height, body weight, and waist circumference were measured to calculate the body mass index. A log binominal model examined the association between dietary patterns and obesity, stratified by gender. Four dietary patterns were identified for both genders: rice staple, wheat staple, snacks, and prudent patterns. The rice staple pattern was associated positively with abdominal obesity in men (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.358; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.132–1.639; p = 0.001), but was associated negatively with general obesity in women (PR = 0.745; 95% CI: 0.673–0.807; p = 0.031). Men in the highest quartile of the wheat staple pattern had significantly greater risk of central obesity (PR = 1.331; 95% CI: 1.094–1.627; p = 0.005). There may be gender differences in the association between dietary patterns and obesity in middle-aged and elderly populations in Shanghai, China.