Scientific Study

BACKGROUND: Sixty-five percent of US adults are overweight; and 31% of these adults are obese. Obesity results from weight gains over time; however; dietary determinants of weight gain remain controversial. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine whether food patterns derived from exploratory factor analysis are related to anthropometric changes. We hypothesized that we would derive a healthy food pattern and that it would predict smaller changes in body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) and waist circumference (in cm) than would other food patterns in models adjusted for baseline anthropometric measures. DESIGN: The subjects were 459 healthy men and women participating in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Diet was assessed by using 7-d dietary records; from which 40 food groups were formed and entered into a factor analysis. RESULTS: Six food patterns were derived. Factor 1 (reduced-fat dairy products; fruit; and fiber) was most strongly associated with fiber (r = 0.39) and loaded heavily on reduced-fat dairy products; cereal; and fruit and loaded moderately on fruit juice; nonwhite bread; nuts and seeds; whole grains; and beans and legumes. In a multivariate-adjusted model in which the highest and lowest quintiles were compared; factor 1 was inversely associated with annual change in BMI (beta = -0.51; 95% CI: -0.82; -0.20; P < 0.05; P for trend < 0.01) in women and inversely associated with annual change in waist circumference (beta = -1.06 cm; 95% CI: -1.88; -0.24 cm; P < 0.05; P for trend = 0.04) in both sexes. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a pattern rich in reduced-fat dairy products and high-fiber foods may lead to smaller gains in BMI in women and smaller gains in waist circumference in both women and men.