Association between dairy product intake and body composition among South Asian adults from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study

Bridget Murphy, Sameera A. Talegawkar, Joyce O'Connor, Namratha R. Kandula, Alka M. Kanaya, Matthew A. Allison, Niyati Parekh*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

South Asians, who are at a disproportionately greater risk of atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), represent a rapidly growing population in the USA. The relationship between dairy products, a major component of South Asian diets, and body composition - an established risk factor for ASCVD, is unclear. The aim of the present study was to examine associations between dairy intake and multiple measures of body composition (BMI, waist and hip circumference, waist:hip ratio, abdominal lean mass, subcutaneous, visceral, and intermuscular fat areas) among South Asian adults in the USA. A baseline analysis was conducted using existing data from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America cohort. In women, the highest (>1.9 servings/d) v. lowest (<1 serving/d) tertile of dairy intake was associated with 53 % lower odds of a waist circumference >80 cm (95 % CI 0.25, 0.89, P for trend<0.05). No associations were observed between dairy intake and measures of body composition. However, >3 servings of low-fat yogurt/week was associated with a 9.9 cmlower visceral fat area (95 % CI -19.07, -0.72, P<0.05) and 2.3 cmlower intermuscular fat area (95 % CI -3.76, -0.79, P<0.05) as compared with those with three servings/week. Milk and cheese were not associated with body composition measures. These analyses suggest that higher consumption of low-fat yogurt is associated with lower visceral and intermuscular fat in the whole sample, and women with higher dairy intake have lower waist circumference. Our study supports dietary incorporation of dairy products, and recognises the utility of multidimensional measures of central adiposity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1100-1109
Number of pages10
JournalBritish Journal of Nutrition
Volume126
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 14 2021

Funding

The MASALA cohort study project described was supported by Grant Number R01HL093009 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through UCSF-CTSI Grant Number UL1 RR024131. Body composition measures in MASALA were supported by grant K24 HL112827. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute or the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank the other investigators, the staff and the participants of the MASALA study for their valuable contributions.

Keywords

  • Anthropometric measures
  • Body composition
  • Computed tomography scans
  • Dairy product intake
  • South Asians

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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