Abstract
BackgroundIt has been established in RCTs that high dose of phytosterols can significantly reduce blood cholesterol. However, it was uncertain whether low dose of phytosterols from daily diets was effective. In this study, we evaluated the associations between dietary phytosterols and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood glucose, serum lipid profiles and prevalence of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity in healthy subjects.MethodsFour hundred nine men and 503 women aged 18–60 years were included in this study. Dietary intakes of phytosterols were estimated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Height, body weight, WC and blood pressure were measured, an oral glucose tolerance test was performed. Moreover, fasting serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) were further determined.ResultsWhen comparing extreme quartiles of dietary phytosterols, significant differences of BMI, WC, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), serum TC and LDLc were found. Dietary phytosterols presented a negative association with BMI, WC, SBP, DBP, serum TC and LDLc (with and without adjustment for energy). After adjustment for confounders, we found higher dietary phytosterols were linked with lower prevalence of overweight/obesity (OR highest vs. lowest quartile = 0.487; 95% CI 0.234, 0.918 for men; OR highest vs. lowest quartile = 0.277; 95% CI 0.124, 0.619 for women) and abdominal obesity (OR highest vs. lowest quartile = 0.344; 95% CI 0.144, 0.819 for men; OR highest vs. lowest quartile = 0.321; 95% CI 0.140, 0.571 for women).ConclusionsHigher dietary phytosterols were associated with lower BMI, WC, blood pressure, serum TC and LDLc and lower prevalence of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity in Chinese adults.
Highlights
It has been established in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that high dose of phytosterols can significantly reduce blood cholesterol
Correlations between dietary phytosterols and anthropometric parameters, blood glucose and serum lipid profiles As shown in Table 3, we found negative correlations between total phytosterols and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc)
The major finding of this study is that higher dietary phytosterols intake was associated with lower BMI, WC, blood pressure, serum TC and LDLc and lower prevalence of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity in northern Chinese adults
Summary
It has been established in RCTs that high dose of phytosterols can significantly reduce blood cholesterol. It was uncertain whether low dose of phytosterols from daily diets was effective. Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have confirmed that phytosterols added into fat-based foods can significantly reduce serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDLc) [12,13,14]. Daily intake of capsules containing 2 g phytosterols did not reduce total- or LDL-cholesterol significantly [16], this study emphasized the importance of phytosterols from daily diets in cholesterol lowering effect
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