The British journal of nutrition
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Several previous cross-sectional studies have shown that vegetarians have a better metabolic profile than non-vegetarians, suggesting that a vegetarian dietary pattern may help prevent chronic degenerative diseases. However, longitudinal studies on the impact of vegetarian diets on metabolic traits are scarce. We studied how several sub-types of vegetarian diets affect metabolic traits, including waist circumference, BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol (TC), HDL, LDL, TAG and TC:HDL ratio, through both cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. ⋯ In the cross-sectional comparisons, all sub-types of vegetarians had lower likelihoods of abnormalities compared with non-vegetarians on all metabolic traits (P<0·001 for all comparisons), except for HDL and TAG. The better metabolic profile in vegetarians is partially attributable to lower BMI. With proper management of TAG and HDL, along with caution about the intake of refined carbohydrates and fructose, a plant-based diet may benefit all aspects of the metabolic profile.
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Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2012, we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of under-reporting and over-reporting of energy intake (EI) among 19 693 US adults ≥20 years of age. For the assessment of EI, two 24-h dietary recalls were conducted using the US Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method. Under-reporters, acceptable reporters and over-reporters of EI were identified by two methods based on the 95 % confidence limits: (1) for agreement between the ratio of EI to BMR and a physical activity level for sedentary lifestyle (1·55) and (2) of the expected ratio of EI to estimated energy requirement (EER) of 1·0. ⋯ Over-reporting was associated with male sex, younger age, lower family poverty income ratio, current smoking (compared with never smoking) and underweight. Similar findings were obtained when analysing only the first 24-h recall data from NHANES 1999-2012 (n 28 794). In conclusion, we found that misreporting of EI, particularly under-reporting, remains prevalent and differential in US adults.
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Unhealthy dietary behaviours may contribute to obesity along with energy imbalance. Both positive and null associations of snacking and BMI have been reported, but the association between snacking and total adiposity or pattern of fat deposition remains unevaluated. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between snacking frequency and detailed adiposity measurements. ⋯ Adjusting for these foods in a model that included a BMI-snacking interaction term attenuated all the associations to null. Snacking frequency may be associated with higher or lower adiposity, with the direction of association being differential by BMI status and dependent on snack food choice. Improving snack choices could contribute to anti-obesity public health interventions.