Dietary patterns change over two years in early adolescent girls in Hawai'i.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In investigating diet-disease relationships, examination of dietary patterns allows for conclusions to be drawn based on overall intake. This study characterized dietary patterns of early adolescent girls over a two-year period and examined the relationship between dietary patterns and body mass index (BMI).

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses were performed using longitudinal data from food records of early adolescent girls (n=148) 9 to 14 years in Hawai'i from the Female Adolescent Maturation (FAM) study. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis (PCA). Pearson's correlations between BMI percentile and z-score and dietary pattern factor scores at Times 1 (2001-2002) and 2 (2002-2003) were calculated. For each dietary pattern, participants were divided into low, intermediate, and high scorers. Mean BMI percentiles and z-scores were compared between groups using analysis of covariance.

RESULTS: At Time 1, three patterns were identified, characterized by: (1) whole grains, nuts and seeds, added sugar; (2) non-whole grain, tomatoes, discretionary fat; and (3) deep yellow vegetables, other starchy vegetables, cooked dry beans/peas. At Time 2, three different dietary patterns emerged: (1) non-whole grains, meat, discretionary fat; (2) other vegetables, fish, eggs; and (3) whole grain, tomatoes, other vegetables. BMI percentile and z-score differed between high and low scorers on Time 1-Pattern 1 and Time 2-Pattern 3.

CONCLUSION: Results revealed changes in dietary patterns over time and an association between intake and BMI. Findings demonstrate the importance of frequent nutrition assessment to monitor changes in intake that may be improved to prevent obesity.