Changes in the Dietary Patterns of Canadian Adults and Likelihood of Obesity: Results from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition, Cycles 2004 and 2015 (P18-035-19)

Abstract

ObjectivesHealthy dietary patterns are associated with reduced risk of non-communicable diseases. The relationship between healthy dietary patterns and obesity has not been examined over time at the national level in Canada. The objective of this research was to adopt three diet quality indexes: the Mediterranean-Style Dietary Pattern Score (MSDPS), the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015 Adherence Index (DGAI), and a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) index to nationally-representative survey data to examine the relationship between these dietary patterns and obesity MethodsIndex scores were computed for adults (≥18 years) using 24-hr dietary recall data from two cross-sectional samples of the Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition [CCHS; 2004 (n = 11,748) and 2015 (n = 12,110)]. The National Cancer Institute method was used to estimate usual intake. The association between index scores and likelihood of obesity was examined using weighted multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, energy intake, physical activity and smoking status. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported at the midpoint of each quintile with the 90th percentile as reference. ResultsIn CCHS 2004, estimated mean MSDPS, DASH and DGAI scores were 12.43 ± 0.14 out of 100, 44.18 ± 0.29 out of 90 and 8.82 ± 0.05 out of 19; in CCHS 2015, scores were 13.9 ± 0.13 out of 100, 44.99 ± 0.25 out of 90 and 8.99 ± 0.04 out of 19 respectively. Low scores for all indexes was associated with a greater likelihood of being obese in CCHS 2004 (OR 10th vs. 90th percentile for DGAI: 3.01, CI: 1.98–4.57; DASH: 2.23, CI: 1.50–3.32; MSDPS: 2.02, CI: 1.14–3.58). Similar results were observed in CCHS 2015, however results for MSDPS were not significant (OR 10th vs. 90th percentile for DGAI: 2.73, CI: 1.85–4.03; DASH: 2.45, CI: 1.72–3.49; MSDPS: 1.30, CI: 0.82–2.06). ConclusionsThis research is the first to examine changes in the dietary patterns of Canadians using multiple cycles of national health survey data. Our findings suggest that DASH and Dietary Guidelines for Americans-type dietary patterns may be favourable interventions for the prevention of obesity among Canadian adults, however more research is required. Funding SourcesSupported by grants from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Innovation in Regulatory Science Award and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.