Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Obesity causes metabolic dysregulations that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Diet is known to play a key role in preventing obesity. In epidemiological studies, because single food and nutrient studies focusing on obesity have produced generally inconsistent results, nutrition researchers have shifted to exploring the health related effects of the whole diet, measured with dietary scores. Recently, a diet constructed of healthy Nordic foods has been suggested as having obesity and metabolic health enhancing features. However, there is a lack of population-based studies on this topic. The aim of the research presented in this thesis was to develop a dietary score reflecting the healthy Nordic diet, and to assess its associations with obesity, metabolic risk factors (e.g., low-grade inflammation, lipid fractions) and T2D in an epidemiological setting. This study was based on data from three health surveys conducted between 2001-2007: the DILGOM study (n = 5024), the Health 2000 survey (n = 6772), and the Helsinki birth cohort study (HBCS) (n = 2003). In clinical examinations, the weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure of participants were measured, and blood samples were drawn. Information on the past medical history was derived from nationwide health registers. Participants habitual diet was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire, which was used to derive the Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) reflecting the healthy Nordic diet. The BSDS included nine components typical of the Nordic diet, which were scored according to the predictable health effect of each component, using sex- and population specific quartile cut-offs. The final summary score ranged between 0-25 points. Participants with high adherence to the healthy Nordic diet (BSDS ≥ 17) had significantly higher intake of carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins, minerals and sodium, and lower intake of saturated fat and alcohol compared to those who did not adhere to the diet (BSDS ≤ 9). Moreover, those who adhered to the diet were 35-52% less likely to be abdominally obese and 27-42% less likely to have elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations compared to the others. In contrast, women adhering to the healthy Nordic diet were 40% more likely to have a low concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol than the others. The BSDS did not associate with T2D incidence during 10 years of follow-up. In conclusion, the BSDS appears to be a valid tool for measuring adherence to a healthy diet. The findings related to abdominal obesity and low-grade inflammation, if proven causal, may lead to decrement in chronic disease risk, and therefore, be relevant from the public health perspective.
Author: Kanerva, Noora
Language: English
Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2101923024