1.Dietary Polyphenol Intake Associated with Adiposity Indices among Adults from Low to Medium Socioeconomic Status in a Suburban Area of Kuala Lumpur: A Preliminary Findings
Hanisah Rosli ; Yifang Kee ; Suzana Shahar
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences 2019;26(6):67-76
Background: Researches on polyphenols have been the interest of few parties due to its
possible roles in the prevention of obesity. However, studies regarding this topic are still limited.
Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the relationship between the intake of polyphenols
with adiposity indices among middle-aged adults.
Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 227 adults aged 40 to 59 years at low-cost
housing flats in suburban area of Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Data collection involved food frequency
questionnaire (FFQ) for polyphenols and international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ).
Subjects were measured for anthropometric parameters including height, weight, waist and neck
circumferences (NC), and body fat percentage. The polyphenol intake from the diet was estimated
using local polyphenol database built according to PHENOL-EXPLORER.
Results: The average intake of polyphenol of subjects was 1815 (672) mg/day. The main
food sources of polyphenol were coffee with milk, followed by chocolate milk and red beans.
A higher polyphenol intake according to quartile was significantly associated with a lower neck
circumference (χ² = 8.30, P = 0.040), waist circumference (χ² = 8.45, P = 0.038) and body fat
percentage (χ² = 8.06, P = 0.045). Binomial logistic regression analysis showed that the association
remained significant for the neck circumference (P = 0.032), after controlling for age, household
income, energy intake and physical activity level. More subjects with normal NC had higher intake
of polyphenols (50th percentile and above). In contrast, subjects with high NC showed lower
percentiles of polyphenols intake (50th percentile and below).
Conclusion: The result showed that polyphenol intake was associated with neck
circumference and thus it can be suggested that polyphenol intake is associated with obesity