Better muscle strength with healthy eating

• Published in: Eating and weight disorders Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 367 - 374
• Main Authors: Pasdar, Yahya, Moradi, Shima, Moradinazar, Mehdi, Hamzeh, Behrooz, Najafi, Farid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-02-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anorexia; Bulimia; Diabetes; Diet; Disease; Fatty acids; Grain; Health care; Meat; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Muscle strength; Nutrition research; Obesity; Original Article; Psychiatry; Public health; Questionnaires; Seafood; Sugar; Non-communicable disease; Healthy eating index; Muscle strength
• ISSN: 1590-1262; 1124-4909; 1590-1262
• DOI: 10.1007/s40519-020-00863-1

Purpose
Hand grip strength (HGS) can predict physical function in next year when it is positively associated with nutritional and health status. This study aimed to determine the relationship between the healthy eating index (HEI)-2015 and hand grip strength.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted on data from 4010 participants in the Ravansar non-communicable disease (RaNCD) cohort study. HGS was measured using a hand-held hydraulic hand grip dynamometer. HEI-2015 was calculated using data from the food frequency questionnaire.
Results
The mean of total HEI-2015 score was significantly higher in participants with an optimal HGS than in participants with a weak HGS (
P
 = 0.006). Higher adherence to healthy eating was associated with optimal muscle strength (OR 1.26; CI 95% 1.02–1.62). This association was remained after being adjusted for potential confounders (
P 
= 0.01). Among the HEI-2015 components, we only found association between whole fruit, added sugar, and HGS (
P
 = 0.01, 0.019).
Conclusions
Our findings indicated that adherence to HEI-2015 could promote muscle strength. Among the HEI-2015 components, higher intake of whole fruit and lower adherence to added sugar had significantly positive effects on HGS.
Level of evidence
Level V, descriptive cross-sectional study.