HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Newby, P. Articles by Tucker, K. L Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Newby, P. Articles by Tucker, K. L Agricola Articles by Newby, P. Articles by Tucker, K. L

Intake of whole grains, refined grains, and cereal fiber measured with 7-d diet records and associations with risk factors for chronic disease ^1,2,3

¹ From the Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, and the Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA (PKN); the Jean Mayer US Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA (JM, PB, and KLT); the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD (DM and LF)

Background: Research studies examining foods are important, because they account for biological interactions that might otherwise be lost in the analysis of individual nutrients. Single-nutrient studies are also needed to explore the mechanisms by which foods may be protective.

Objective: Our objective was to examine associations between whole grains, refined grains, and cereal fiber and chronic disease risk factors.

Design: In a cross-sectional analysis of participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, associations between dietary intakes and risk factors were examined with multivariate linear regression analysis. Dietary intakes were assessed with 7-d dietary records and quantified in g/d.

Results: Compared with subjects in the lowest quintile (Q1) of whole-grain intake, subjects in the highest quintile (Q5) had lower body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²; Q1: 25.5; Q5: 24.8; P for trend <0.0001) and weight (Q1: 75.0 kg; Q5: 72.4 kg; P for trend = 0.004) and smaller waist circumference (Q1: 87.4 cm; Q5: 85.0 cm; P for trend = 0.002). Whole grains were also inversely associated with total cholesterol (P for trend = 0.02), LDL cholesterol (P for trend = 0.04), and 2-h glucose (P for trend = 0.0006). Associations between cereal fiber and anthropometrics and plasma lipids were similar. In subgroup analyses, refined grains were positively associated with fasting insulin among women (P for trend = 0.002).

Conclusions: Similar associations of whole grains and cereal fiber with weight, BMI, waist circumference, plasma cholesterol, and 2-h glucose were observed, suggesting that cereal fiber and its constituents may in part mediate these relations. Refined grains were associated with fasting insulin among women but not men. Additional research should explore potential interaction effects with BMI, sex, age, and genes.

Key Words: Whole grains • refined grains • fiber • diet records • risk factors

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. F. De Moura, K. D. Lewis, and M. C. Falk Applying the FDA Definition of Whole Grains to the Evidence for Cardiovascular Disease Health Claims J. Nutr., November 1, 2009; 139(11): 2220S - 2226S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. M. McKeown, M. Yoshida, M. K. Shea, P. F. Jacques, A. H. Lichtenstein, G. Rogers, S. L. Booth, and E. Saltzman Whole-Grain Intake and Cereal Fiber Are Associated with Lower Abdominal Adiposity in Older Adults J. Nutr., October 1, 2009; 139(10): 1950 - 1955. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Newby Plant foods and plant-based diets: protective against childhood obesity? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2009; 89(5): 1572S - 1587S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]