Abstract
OBJECTIVE: As a part of the SPAWN (Stockholm Pregnancy and Women's Nutrition) study, the intake of sweet foods (habitual and pre-menstrual intakes) and the number of cariogenic microorganisms in saliva was analysed in relation to body mass index (BMI) and psychometric variables.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.
SUBJECTS: Three hundred and sixty-two women with a median BMI of 24.2 kg/m2 (range 17.5–47.8) and 45 y of age (range 34–64).
METHODS: A questionnaire of sweet food intake, salivary counts of mutans streptococci and lactobacilli and a self-rating scale on psychometric variables (CPRS-S-A).
RESULTS: The number of mutans streptococci correlated with BMI (P<0.05), indirectly indicating a higher intake of sweet foods in obese women. The reported energy intake of sweet foods (more specifically the intake of chocolate), correlated with CPRS scores (P<0.01), indicating that women with more severe psychiatric symptomatology have higher intakes of sweet foods.
CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that women with higher CPRS score have higher energy intakes of sweet foods, indicating a possible link between mood regulation and the intake of sweet food.
SPONSORSHIP: Karolinska Institute Research Funds.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge Viveca Petre Larsson, Birgitta Spetz, Lena Mannström Svensson and Karin Östling for their enthusiastic support and help in this study.
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Barkeling, B., Linné, Y., Lindroos, A. et al. Intake of sweet foods and counts of cariogenic microorganisms in relation to body mass index and psychometric variables in women. Int J Obes 26, 1239–1244 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802034
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802034
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