Dietary approach to stop hypertension and obesity among Iranian adults: Yazd health study-TAMYZ and Shahedieh cohort
ISSN: 0034-6659
Article publication date: 31 January 2022
Issue publication date: 29 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Established data revealed a relationship between obesity and increasing the risk of mortality and morbidity of chronic diseases. There are conflicting data regarding the association between adherence of dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH) and obesity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate this relationship among a large sample of Iranian adults.
Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study was performed by 10,693 individuals; 6750 individuals related to Yazd Health Study living in the urban area and 3943 individuals related to Shahedieh cohort study living in the suburb area. Dietary intake was evaluated by using a validated food frequency questionnaire. In all participants, anthropometric indices including body mass index were measured. The DASH score was considered using gender-specific quintiles of DASH items. To evaluate the relationship of DASH diet and obesity, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used.
Findings
By adjusting confounders, participants in highest quintiles of DASH diet were compared to the lowest have lower odds of obesity in suburb area (odds ratio [OR]: 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.63, 0.96), in urban (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.99) and in whole population of both studies (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.63, 0.90). Besides, more compliance of women to this diet in urban (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.48, 0.85) and population of both studies (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.96) were associated with reduced odds of central obesity.
Research limitations/implications
Considering this study limitations, the following can be mentioned: in this cross-sectional study, the causal relationship between DASH diet and obesity could not be assessed. Consequently, further prospective studies are required in this area. Second, although a valid food frequency questionnaire was used, but there was a measurement error and an error in the classification of people participating in the study. Moreover, we cannot reject the possibility of residual confounding bias because unknown or unmeasured confounders may exist that affected our results. Finally, our participants with odds of obesity might have been advised to reduce their fat intake, which led them to alter their dietary habits. However, such possibility cannot be resolved in a cross-sectional study.
Originality/value
DASH dietary pattern could decrease odds of obesity in both urban and suburb area and central obesity in urban area only. Further prospective studies are needed for causal conclusion.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all those who have helped in carrying out the research. This study was extracted from a MSc dissertation that was approved by the School of Health Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest to report regarding this study.
Author Contributions: SS-KH and MH made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the manuscript, preparation manuscript, as well as performing statistical analysis and data interpretation. They also approved the final manuscript for submission and critical revision. HM-KH, MM and AN contributed to data interpretation and also critically revised the manuscript for important intellectual content and approved the final manuscript for submission.
Consent for publication: This manuscript is not being simultaneously submitted elsewhere and no portion of the data has been published elsewhere.
Availability of data and material: Data described in the manuscript and analytic code will be made available upon request pending application and approval.
Funding: This study was funded by the Nutrition and Food Security research center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
O RCI D
Sahar Sarkhosh-Khorasani https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4765-746X
Azadeh Nadjarzadeh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9740-8402
Mahdieh Hosseinzadeh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7482-2494
Citation
Sarkhosh-Khorasani, S., Mozaffari-Khosravi, H., Nadjarzadeh, A., Mirzaei, M. and Hosseinzadeh, M. (2022), "Dietary approach to stop hypertension and obesity among Iranian adults: Yazd health study-TAMYZ and Shahedieh cohort", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 52 No. 7, pp. 1142-1157. https://doi.org/10.1108/NFS-10-2021-0308
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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