ISMJ

Background: Dietary pattern analysis has emerged as an alternative and complementary approach to examine the relationship between diet and the risk of chronic diseases.The aim of this study is to determine the association between major dietary patterns and general and central obesity among adult women living in Bushehr city. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bushehr, with 362 women aged 20-50 years. Dietary intake in the previous year was assessed by a semi-quantitative 133-item food frequency questionnaire. The food items were classified into 38 food groups. In addition, social-demography and anthropometric data were gathered using questionnaires. Weight, height and waist circumstance (WC) were measured with standard methods and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. General obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and central obesity as WC ≥ 88 cm. Factor analysis and ANOVA were used for data analysis. Results: Mean age and BMI was 31 years and 24.4, respectively. 14% of the subjects had generally obese and 40% centrally obese.Two major dietary patterns were extracted: "Healthy" and "Unhealthy" dietary pattern. Individuals in the highest quartile of the unhealthy dietary pattern score were more likely to be generally obese (23.6 vs 7.9 p<0.05) whereas, those in the upper quartile of healthy dietary pattern were less likely to be generally obese (6.7 vs 20.2 p<0.01). Conclusion: Major dietary patterns of Bushehrian women had a significant association with general obesity. Suggesting that further prospective researches to confirm such associations.