Original Article
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication 26 August 2009; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.102
Energy density of foods, but not beverages, is positively associated with body mass index in adult women
Guarantors: HL Hartline-Grafton and D Rose
Contributors: HLH and DR contributed to the conception and design of the study. HLH was one of the three dietary interviewers and had primary responsibility for data analysis and manuscript preparation. DR, CCJ, and LSW provided contributions to manuscript preparation and overall study design. DR and JCR oversaw the data analysis.
H L Hartline-Grafton1,2, D Rose2, C C Johnson2, J C Rice3 and L S Webber3
- 1Food Research and Action Center, Washington, DC, USA
- 2Department of Community Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
- 3Department of Biostatistics, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
Correspondence: Dr D Rose, Department of Community Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2301, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. E-mail: diego@tulane.edu
Received 15 December 2008; Revised 28 June 2009; Accepted 23 July 2009; Published online 26 August 2009.
Abstract
Background/Objectives:
Energy density (kJ/g) may have a strong influence on energy balance. Although beverages are a considerable source of energy in the United States diet, rarely have studies among free-living populations investigated the energy density of foods (EDF) and the energy density of beverages (EDB) simultaneously. We examined the independent simultaneous associations of EDF and EDB on energy intake and body mass index (BMI) in adult women.
Subjects/Methods:
This cross-sectional design focused on 348 elementary school employees randomly selected at baseline of a worksite wellness trial in southeastern Louisiana. Two 24-h recalls were collected, and measured heights and weights were converted into BMI (kg/m2).
Results:
Those in the highest EDF tertile consumed more energy and had higher BMIs than those in the lowest tertile (P<0.05). Employees in the highest EDB tertile consumed more energy than those in the lowest, yet there was no difference in BMIs between the two groups. Multivariate regression, with controls for demographic and health variables, confirmed the positive association between EDF and BMI; a 1 kJ/g increase in EDF was associated with a 0.39 kg/m2 increase in BMI (P=0.038). Models that did not control for EDB gave estimates of EDF that were 8–10% lower.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that EDF and EDB have important, yet distinct, functions in energy intake and BMI. Future studies should evaluate both types of energy density as independent predictors as our results suggest that EDB can confound the association of EDF with BMI.
Keywords:
energy density, energy intake
