Title: Obese People Do Not Have a Higher Chance of Adherence to Recommended Daily Intake for the Most Nutrients
Abstract: There is a myth that obesity equals overnutrition. We conducted a study to examine whether obese people had a higher chance of adherence to recommended daily intake. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT) 2014–2016. NAHSIT is a nationwide representative survey aimed to investigate and monitor the nutritional status of Taiwanese people. Fourteen nutrient intakes, including vitamin A, C, D, E, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, Fe, Mg, Zn, Ca, and P, were evaluated using 24-hour dietary recall. Logistic regression models will be used to determine whether obesity was related to the higher chance of adherence to recommended daily intakes. Stratified analyses were conducted by sex. Obese (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m2) and normal-weight (18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 24 kg/m2) people were defined according to the criteria of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan. A total of 3075 participants (51% of females) aged 19 and above were included in the final analysis. After adjusting for age, body mass index, education level, marital status, and family income, as expected, we found that obese men have a higher chance of adherence to recommended daily intake of vitamin B3 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.29–2.23), Fe (OR = 1.46, 95% CI = 1.06–2.00), and Zn (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.07–1.85), compared with normal-weight men. However, obese women have a lower chance of adherence to recommended daily intake of vitamin C (OR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56–0.95) and Mg (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.54–0.95), compared with normal-weight women. For the most nutrient intakes, we found no difference between obese and normal-weight people in the chance of adherence to recommended daily intake. In general, we found that obesity did not equal overnutrition. Obese women have insufficient intakes of some nutrients compared with normal-weight women. Our finding indicated that obese people might have more nutritional imbalance. This study was supported by China Medical University.