Relationship between diet-related indicators and overweight and obesity in older adults in rural Japan

• Published in: The Journal of nutrition, health & aging Vol. 21; no. 7; pp. 759 - 765
• Main Authors: Ishikawa, Midori, Moriya, S., Yokoyama, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Paris Springer Paris 01-07-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aging; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Female; Food; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Humans; Japan; Life Style; Logistic Models; Male; Meals; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mens health; Neurosciences; Nutrition; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - prevention & control; Older people; Overweight; Overweight - epidemiology; Overweight - prevention & control; Primary Care Medicine; Quality of Life Research; Rural Population; Surveys and Questionnaires; Women; Japan; food diversity; aging; number of meals; Japanese; obesity
• ISSN: 1279-7707; 1760-4788
• DOI: 10.1007/s12603-016-0807-x

Objectives
To identify the relationship between diet-related indicators and overweight and obesity in older adults in rural Japan.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Obira, Hokkaido, Japan.
Participants
Local residents aged between 65 and 74 years, except for those with poor health, were included.
Intervention
A health- and diet-related questionnaire was applied to participants house-to-house by trained health professionals.
Measurements
The following indicators were examined: number of meals, number of balanced meals, food diversity, food group diversity, chewing ability, alcohol intake habit, smoking habit, instrumental activities of daily living scores, age, and residing alone or with family.
Results
Of 550 residents, 317 residents completely responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 41 were had low body mass index (BMI≤20) and were excluded. This resulted in a sample of 307 subjects comprising 117 men and 190 women; 37.6% and 46.8% of men and women were classified as obese (BMI≥25), respectively. Women with a normal BMI (20<BMI<25) had significantly higher food diversity in diet-related indicators compared with women with high BMI. The mean number of meals per day of normal men was significantly higher than of obese men. Using logistic regression analysis (stepwise), it was found that the number of meals per day was associated with obesity in men (OR=3.02; 95% CI 0.91–9.98; P=0.071), and food diversity was significantly associated with obesity in women (OR=1.95; 95% CI 1.12–3.38; P=0.018).
Conclusions
The associations between dietary indicators and obesity differed by sex. Food diversity may be a potential indicator to measure nutritional status in women.