Diet quality matters not just quantity in mid-to-late-adulthood
The study examined close to 2,000 participants of the Multiethnic Cohort living in Hawaii and Los Angeles from five ethnic groups (White, African American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American and Latino). The participants completed food frequency questionnaires at cohort entry from 1993-96 and at clinic visits in 2013-2016. Participants also underwent whole-body DXA and abdominal MRI scans. All four science-based diet quality scores predicted lower VAT and NAFL. Individuals with the best (highest) diet quality scores were 35-59% less likely to have high VAT and were also 22-43% less likely to have NAFL than those with the lowest scores after accounting for total body fat. A long term healthy, quality diet can reduce the risk of cardiometabolic conditions. Gertraud Maskarinec, MD, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology at University of Hawaii Cancer Center said, "The message that diet quality, not just quantity, matters is important for everyone who wants to maintain both a healthy ...