Chen Gengdong, Su Mengyang, Chu Xinwei, Wei Yuanhuan, Chen Shanshan, Zhou Yingyu, Liu Zhengping, Zhang Zheqing
Department of Obstetrics, Foshan Institute of Fetal Medicine, Southern Medical University Affiliated Maternal & Child Health Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, China.
Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Front Nutr. 2022 Jul 29;9:918944. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.918944. eCollection 2022.
Evidence suggests that plant-based diets are beneficial for alleviating metabolic diseases. Childhood is a crucial period for body growth and development. However, it is unknown whether adherence to a plant-based diet is related to a healthy body composition in children. We aimed to assess the relationship between a plant-based diet and body composition in children. A total of 452 Chinese children aged 6-9 years old participated in this cross-sectional study. Lean mass (LM), fat mass, and fat mass percentage (FMP) were assessed via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. An age- and sex-specific abdominal FMP ≥85th percentile was defined as abdominal obesity. Handgrip strength was measured using a hydraulic hand dynamometer. A validated 79-item food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary information. Overall plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful plant-based diet index (hPDI), and unhealthful plant-based diet index (uPDI) scores were calculated. After adjusting for potential covariates, a higher hPDI score (per 10-score increment) was associated with a higher LM in the android area (0.038 kg, 3.2%), gynoid area (0.048 kg, 1.9%), and trunk (0.102 kg, 1.2%) and with a lower FMP (1.18%) in the android area. In contrast, a higher uPDI score (per 10-score increment) was associated with a lower LM in the trunk (0.091 kg, 1.1%) and android area (0.023 kg, 1.9%) and with a higher FMP (0.74%) in the android area. No significant associations were observed between the overall PDI and body composition or abdominal obesity. After stratifying by sex, higher (vs. lower) hPDI scores was associated with lower abdominal obesity risk in girls and higher handgrip strength in boys. In conclusion, in this cross-sectional study, we found that stronger adherence to a healthful plant-based diet, and less adherence to an unhealthful plant-based diet was associated with better body composition in Chinese omnivorous children aged 6-9 years old. Our results highlight the need to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy plant foods within investigating how to obtain a healthy body composition in children.
有证据表明，以植物为基础的饮食有利于缓解代谢疾病。儿童时期是身体生长发育的关键时期。然而，坚持以植物为基础的饮食是否与儿童健康的身体成分有关尚不清楚。我们旨在评估以植物为基础的饮食与儿童身体成分之间的关系。共有452名6至9岁的中国儿童参与了这项横断面研究。通过双能X线吸收法评估去脂体重（LM）、脂肪量和脂肪量百分比（FMP）。将年龄和性别特异性腹部FMP≥第85百分位数定义为腹部肥胖。使用液压握力计测量握力。采用一份经过验证的包含79个条目的食物频率问卷收集饮食信息。计算总体植物性饮食指数（PDI）、健康植物性饮食指数（hPDI）和不健康植物性饮食指数（uPDI）得分。在对潜在协变量进行调整后，较高的hPDI得分（每增加10分）与男性区域（0.038千克，3.2%）、女性区域（0.048千克，1.9%）和躯干（0.102千克，1.2%）的较高去脂体重以及男性区域较低的FMP（1.18%）相关。相比之下，较高的uPDI得分（每增加10分）与躯干（0.091千克，1.1%）和男性区域（0.023千克，1.9%）的较低去脂体重以及男性区域较高的FMP（0.74%）相关。未观察到总体PDI与身体成分或腹部肥胖之间存在显著关联。按性别分层后，较高（与较低相比）的hPDI得分与女孩较低的腹部肥胖风险以及男孩较高的握力相关。总之，在这项横断面研究中，我们发现，对于6至9岁的中国杂食儿童，更强地坚持健康的植物性饮食以及更少地坚持不健康的植物性饮食与更好的身体成分相关。我们的研究结果凸显了在研究如何使儿童获得健康身体成分时区分健康和不健康植物性食物的必要性。
