Dietary Patterns by Level of Maternal Education and Their Contribution to BMI, Fat Mass Index, and Fat-Free Mass Index at Age 5 and the Longitudinal Association with BMI at Age 10.

BACKGROUND

Our aim was to identify dietary patterns by the level of maternal education that contribute to BMI, fat mass index (FMI), and fat-free mass index (FFMI) in children at age 5 and to assess if these dietary patterns are related to BMI at age 10.

METHODS

Per group (low/middle/high level), Reduced Rank Regression (RRR) was used to derive dietary patterns for the response variables BMI z-score, FMI, and FFMI in 1728 children at age 5 in the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) cohort. Regression analyses were then used to determine the association with BMI at age 10.

RESULTS

In each group, pattern 1 was characterized by its own cluster of food groups. Low: water/tea, savory snacks, sugar, low-fat meat, and fruits; middle: water/tea, low-fat cheese, fish, low-fat dairy, fruit drink, low-fat meat, and eggs; and high: low-fat cheese, fruits, whole-grain breakfast products, and low-fat and processed meat. Additionally, in each group, pattern 1 was positively associated with BMI z-scores at age 10 (low: β ≤ 0.43 [95% CI ≤ 0.21; 0.66], < 0.001, middle: β ≤ 0.23 [0.09; 0.36], ≤ 0.001, and high: β ≤ 0.24 [0.18; 0.30], < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The dietary patterns stratified by the level of maternal education are characterized by different food groups. But in all the groups, pattern 1 is positively associated with BMI at age 10.