International Congress on Abnominal Obesity
Am J Clin Nutr 91: 329-336, 2010. First published December 16, 2009; doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28191
 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.28191
Vol. 91, No. 2, 329-336, February 2010
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© 2010 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Dietary fiber and subsequent changes in body weight and waist circumference in European men and women1,2,3

Huaidong Du, Daphne L van der A, Hendriek C Boshuizen, Nita G Forouhi, Nicolas J Wareham, Jytte Halkjær, Anne Tjønneland, Kim Overvad, Marianne Uhre Jakobsen, Heiner Boeing, Brian Buijsse, Giovanna Masala, Dominique Palli, Thorkild IA Sørensen, Wim HM Saris and Edith JM Feskens

1 From the National Institute for Public Healththe Environment (RIVM) Bilthoven Netherlands (HD DLvdAHCB); the Department of Human Biology NutritionToxicology the Research Institute of Maastricht Maastricht Netherlands (HDWHMS); the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit Institute of Medical Science Cambridge United Kingdom (NGFNJW); the Danish Cancer Society Institute of Cancer Epidemiology Copenhagen Denmark (JHAT); the Department of Cardiology Aarhus University Hospital Aalborg Denmark (KO); the Department of Clinical Epidemiology Aarhus University Hospital Aalborg Denmark (KOMUJ); the Department of Epidemiology German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam Germany (HBBB); the MolecularNutritional Epidemiology Unit Cancer ResearchPrevention Institute Florence Italy (GMDP); the Institute of Preventive Medicine Copenhagen University Hospital Centre for HealthSociety Copenhagen Denmark (TIAS);the Division of Human Nutrition Wageningen University Wageningen Netherlands (EJMF).

2 Supported by the DiOGenes (Diet, Obesity, and Genes) project supported by the European Community (contract no. FOOD-CT-2005-513946). The parties of the project are listed at http://www.diogenes-eu.org/.

3 Address correspondence to DL van der A, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), PO Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, Netherlands. E-mail: daphne.van.der.a{at}rivm.nl.

Background: Dietary fiber may play a role in obesity prevention. Until now, the role that fiber from different sources plays in weight change had rarely been studied.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the association of total dietary fiber, cereal fiber, and fruit and vegetable fiber with changes in weight and waist circumference.

Design: We conducted a prospective cohort study with 89,432 European participants, aged 20–78 y, who were free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes at baseline and who were followed for an average of 6.5 y. Dietary information was collected by using validated country-specific food-frequency questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed in each center studied, and estimates were combined by using random-effects meta-analyses. Adjustments were made for follow-up duration, other dietary variables, and baseline anthropometric, demographic, and lifestyle factors.

Results: Total fiber was inversely associated with subsequent weight and waist circumference change. For a 10-g/d higher total fiber intake, the pooled estimate was –39 g/y (95% CI: –71, –7 g/y) for weight change and –0.08 cm/y (95% CI: –0.11, –0.05 cm/y) for waist circumference change. A 10-g/d higher fiber intake from cereals was associated with –77 g/y (95% CI: –127, –26 g/y) weight change and –0.10 cm/y (95% CI: –0.18, –0.02 cm/y) waist circumference change. Fruit and vegetable fiber was not associated with weight change but had a similar association with waist circumference change when compared with intake of total dietary fiber and cereal fiber.

Conclusion: Our finding may support a beneficial role of higher intake of dietary fiber, especially cereal fiber, in prevention of body-weight and waist circumference gain.