The association of Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with metabolic healthy and metabolic unhealthy obesity phenotypes

The current study aimed at investigating the association between Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and odds of obesity phenotypes, is a cross sectional study conducted on 3218 Iranian overweight or obese participants (BMI >25 kg/m(2)), aged >20 years, who participated in the fourth phase (2009-2011) of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Using a valid and reliable food-frequency questionnaire, DASH diet scores between 8 and 40 points were determined. Obesity phenotypes including metabolic unhealthy obesity (MUHO) and metabolic healthy obesity (MHO) were defined using criteria of the Joint International statement(JIS) for metabolic syndrome. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) for obesity phenotypes according to the tertiles of the DASH diet. Mean +/- SD age of participants (43.5% male) was 39.2 +/- 9.5 years and median (25-75 interquartile range) DASH diet score was 24 (21-27); percentages of MHO and MUHO subjects were 33.4 and 66.6%, respectively. In the multivariable adjusted model, after controlling for age, sex, BMI, physical activity, smoking status, socioeconomic status, and energy intake, participants in the highest tertile of DASH diet had lower odds of MUHO (OR:0.79;95%CI:0.64-0.98), in comparison to those in the lowest one (P for trend = 0.040). Our findings indicate that adherence to DASH diet may be favourable in prevention of metabolic abnormalities in overweight and obese individuals.