Diet Composition, Animal Protein, & Obesity

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J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Aug;107(8):1311- 21.

Diet composition and risk of overweight and obesity in

women living in

the southwestern United States.

Murtaugh MA, Herrick JS, Sweeney C, Baumgartner KB,

Guiliano AR,

Byers T, Slattery ML.

OBJECTIVE: It is unknown whether dietary patterns or

macronutrient

composition contribute to the observed differences in

rates of

overweight and obesity among Hispanic and non-Hispanic

white women in

the United States. We assessed the association of

dietary patterns and

macronutrient composition with overweight and obesity

in Hispanic and

non-Hispanic white women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional

analysis of dietary

data from a case-control study of breast cancer.

PARTICIPANTS:

Population-based control participants (871 Hispanic

and 1,599

non-Hispanic white women) from the southwestern United

States who

completed the diet and other components of the

interview and whose

anthropometric measurements were available. MAIN

OUTCOME MEASURES: Body

mass index (BMI; calculated as kg/m(2)), weight status

(overweight, BMI

25 to 29.9; obese, BMI>30). STATISTICAL ANALYSES

PERFORMED: Dietary

patterns were defined using factor analysis.

Associations of dietary

patterns and macronutrient composition with overweight

and obesity as

compared with normal weight were assessed with

logistic regression.

RESULTS: Hispanic women reported consuming more

energy, a greater

proportion of energy from fat and vegetable protein,

less alcohol, and

less energy from animal protein compared with

non-Hispanic white women.

Western and dieter patterns were associated with

higher prevalence of

overweight and obesity; the Prudent dietary pattern

was associated with

a 29% lower prevalence of overweight and a halving of

the prevalence of

obesity similarly in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white

women. Higher

proportions of energy from protein (odds ratio [OR]

1.81, 95% confidence

interval [CI] 1.28 to 2.56) and animal protein (OR

2.10 95% CI 1.47 to

2.98) were associated with a greater risk of

overweight; greater

proportions of energy from fat (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.27

to 4.08), protein

(3.55 95% CI 2.38 to 5.29), or animal protein (3.44

95% CI 2.31 to 5.14)

were associated with higher risk of obesity among

non-Hispanic white

women only. CONCLUSIONS: A Western dietary pattern was

associated with

greater risk and a Prudent diet with reduced risk of

overweight and

obesity. To reduce risk of overweight and obesity,

Hispanic women should

maintain healthful aspects of a native Hispanic diet,

and non-Hispanic

white women should replace animal protein with

vegetable protein.