Frequency and variety of fruit and vegetable consumption did not predict 6-year weight change in mid –aged women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health — ASN Events
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Frequency and variety of fruit and vegetable consumption did not predict 6-year weight change in mid –aged women from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (#150)

Haya Alljadani 1 2 , Amanda Patterson 1 , David Sibbritt 3 , Clare Collins 1
  1. School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, Priority Research Centre in Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
  2. Faculty of Nutrition and Health Science, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  3. Faculty of Health , University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Introduction: Evidence shows that mid-age women commonly have poor dietary patterns and consume less than the recommended intakes of fruit and vegetables. This may contribute to the high prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Aim: The aim was to assess the relationship between diet quality and 6-year weight change (2001-2007) in mid-aged women (n= 7493 mean age 52.5 ± 1.5 years) enrolled in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH) cohort.

Methods: Diet quality was assessed by a new index developed to assess only the frequency and variety of usual fruit and vegetable consumption, named (FAVI). Weight change was calculated from self-reported data from 2001 to 2007. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationships of interest. Three regression models of regressions were applied including crude, specific and fully adjusted models. Adjusted for the potential confounders including physical activity, education, menopause status, area of resident, smoking, weight at baseline and total of energy intake.

Results: The mean 6-year weight gain was 1.6 ± 6.2 kg, and FAVI (74.2 ± 48.3) out of maximum 333 score. In the three models, there were no significant association between diet quality measured by the FAVI and weight gain in the sub-sample of middle aged women over six years of follow-up. In the fully adjustment model, β=0.003 ;( CI: -0.002: 0.009); P=0.3

Conclusion: Women trended to consuming fewer amounts of fruit and vegetables and they were gaining weight over time. The FAVI did not predict long term weight gain in mid-aged women. However, this lack of association may be due to limitations related to self-reported data on weight and dietary intake. Further research is warranted to evaluate the impact of promoting optimal diet quality on weight gain prospectively.