Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Background
Tuvalu is a Pacific Island country within the small island developing states that has observed a significant and alarming increase in obesity rates over the past 40 years, affecting ∼60 %-70 % of the current population.Objectives
This study aimed to investigate the association between food patterns and the proportion of obesity in a Pacific Island country.Methods
The 2022 COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude survey in Tuvalu (COMBAT) included 985 adults with complete data on sociodemographic information and the frequency of consumption of 25 common foods. A latent class analysis determined 4 food patterns. Bayesian multilevel logistic and linear regression models estimated the association between food patterns and the proportion of obesity [body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2], severe obesity (BMI ≥40 kg/m2), and weight (kg), adjusting for potential confounders and accounting for clustering by region.Results
The latent class analysis revealed 4 food patterns with an entropy of 0.94 and an average posterior probability of class assignment for each individual of 0.97, described as follows: 1) local: locally produced foods with moderate food diversity (proportion of individuals = 28 %); 2) diverse-local: local with greater food diversity (17 %); 3) restricted-imported: more imported with restricted diversity (29 %); and 4) imported: heavily imported with high diversity (26 %). Compared to those following the diverse-local pattern, the odds of having obesity were greater for those classified with the imported pattern [odds ratio (OR): 2.52; 95 % credible interval (CrI): 1.59, 3.99], restricted-imported pattern (OR: 1.89; 95 % CrI: 1.59, 3.99), and local pattern (OR: 1.54; 95 % CrI: 0.94, 2.50). Similar trends were observed for severe obesity while body weight was positively associated with both restricted-imported and imported food patterns.Conclusions
The high consumption of imported foods, together with the low consumption of plant-based foods and protein-rich foods, could be a relevant modifiable lifestyle factor explaining the high levels of obesity and severe obesity in Tuvalu, a Pacific Island country.
SUBMITTER: Lopez-Gil JF
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10862406 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
López-Gil José Francisco JF Wu Stephanie M SM Lee Tai-Lin Irene TI Shih Chih-Wei CW Tausi Selotia S Sosene Vine V Maani Pauke P PP Tupulaga Malo M Hsu Yu-Tien YT Chang Chia-Rui CR Shiau Shi-Chian SC Lo Yuan-Hung YH Wei Chih-Fu CF Lin Po-Jen PJ Hershey Maria Soledad MS
Current developments in nutrition 20240124 2
<h4>Background</h4>Tuvalu is a Pacific Island country within the small island developing states that has observed a significant and alarming increase in obesity rates over the past 40 years, affecting ∼60 %-70 % of the current population.<h4>Objectives</h4>This study aimed to investigate the association between food patterns and the proportion of obesity in a Pacific Island country.<h4>Methods</h4>The 2022 COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude survey in Tuvalu (COMBAT) included 985 adults with c ...[more]