Nutritional Transition and Implications for Adiposity among Young Rural Men in India

The study examined longitudinal changes in food consumption associated with changes in adiposity among rural men in India. Young rural men (n=142) in Pune were followed-up decade apart (2005 and 2015) for anthropometry including Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Fat (BF), Waist Circumference (WC) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) and for Food Consumption (using FFQ). It was observed that decadal gain in mean BMI (3.77±2.60 kg/m2 ), BF (7.45±4.98 %) and WC (10.29±6.98cm) was significant (p<0.000) amounting to 19%, 49% and 15% of baseline values respectively. Consequently, prevalence increased for overweight (45%), obesity (33%), adiposity (36%) and central obesity (23%). Consumption of rice increased among (17%) participants while that of roti decreased among 9%, but increased for non-vegetarian foods, fried snacks and marketed sweets among 25, 53 and 22% participants respectively. Significant associations were observed not only for mean gains in BMI and WC, but also for higher prevalence and ORs for overweight among those who increased consumption of non-vegetarian foods (OR-4.34; 95%CI: 1.7- 11.1), fried snacks (OR-4.32; 95%CI: 1.5-12.8) and marketed sweets (OR-3.21; 95%CI: 1.1-9.1). Further, increased consumption of non-vegetarian foods also indicated two times and five times higher ORs for overall and central obesity respectively. These observations underscore role of specific foods in nutritional transition that increase obesity and demands targeted approach for its prevention by emphasizing nutritional awareness, promoting healthy dietary habits and physical activity among rural men. Moreover, the findings have implications for similar settings in other developing countries.