Rukiye BOZBULUT, Mehmet Ali OKTAY, Ulaş AKÇAY, Esra DÖĞER, Aylin KILINÇ UĞURLU, Mahmut Orhun ÇAMURDAN, Aysun BİDECİ
Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology - 2026;18(1):113-122
Objective: Nutrition may affect visceral adipose tissue, but the effect of dietary diversity on visceral adiposity is unknown. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between dietary diversity and visceral adiposity indices and biochemical parameters in obese adolescent. Methods: Subjects were obese adolescents. Participants' biochemical parameters, anthropometric measurements, and blood pressures were measured. Two days of retrospective food intake records were collected, and dietary diversity scores (DDS) were calculated and divided into tertiles. A DDS score of <4.09 was classified as tertile 1 (low); 4.09-4.96 as tertile 2 (medium); and >4.96 as tertile 3 (high). Visceral adiposity, triglyceride/glucose, lipid accumulation product, and body shape indexes were calculated according to previously published formulas. Results: The study included 141 obese adolescents (70 males, 49.6%) aged between 12 and 18 years. Insulin and Homeostasis Model assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values were higher in individuals in Tertile 1 compared to those in other tertiles (p<0.001). The triglyceride/glucose index was lower in individuals in Tertile 3 compared to those in Tertile 1 (p=0.028). In individuals in Tertile 3, fibre (p=0.002), vegetable (p<0.001), and whole grain (p<0.001) intake were higher than in other tertiles, while refined grain (p<0.001) and meat consumption (p=0.013) were lower than in other tertiles. A negative correlation was found between the DDS and fasting blood glucose (rho=-0.177; p=0.036), insulin (rho=-0.633; p<0.001), triglycerides (rho=-0.223; p=0.008), HOMA-IR (rho=-0.656; p<0.001), visceral adiposity index (rho=-0.228; p=0.007), triglyceride/glucose index (rho=-0.251; p=0.003), and lipid accumulation product index (rho=-0.200; p=0.018). When confounding factors were controlled for, fasting blood glucose emerged as a significant factor affecting DDS. Conclusion: High DDS in obese adolescents are associated with lower visceral adiposity, and lower triglyceride/glucose and lipid accumulation product indexes, indices associated with visceral obesity. As DDSs increased, fasting blood sugar, insulin, triglyceride, and HOMA-IR levels decreased.
