Nutrient scoring for the DEGS1-FFQ – from food intake to nutrient intake

Background: While necessary for studying dietary decision-making or public health, estimates of nutrient supply based on self-reported food intake are barely accessible or fully lacking and remain a challenge in human research. In particular, detailed information on dietary fiber is limited. In this study we introduce an automated openly available approach to assess self-reported nutrient intake for research purposes for a popular, validated German food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Methods: To this end, we i) developed and shared a code for assessing nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein, sugar, fiber...) for 53 items of the quantitative, validated German DEGS1-FFQ questionnaire implementing expert-guided nutritional values of diverse sources with several raters. In a sample of individuals (nGUT-BRAIN = 61 (21 female) overweight, omnivorous), we ii) cross-validated nutrient intake of the last 7 days and the last 24 hours and iii) computed test-retest reliability across two timepoints. Further, iv) we report newly computed nutrient intake for two independent cross-sectional cohorts with continuous weight status and different dietary habits (nMensa= 134 (79 female, 1 diverse), nGREADT = 76 male). Exploratively, we correlated computed nutrient intake with v) anthropometric and vi) blood-based biomarkers. Results: In overweight adults (n= 61 (21 female), mean age 28.2±6.5 years, BMI 27.4±1.6 kg/m2) nutrient intakes were mostly normally distributed and within or surpassing recommended reference nutrient ranges for both last 7 days and last 24 hours. Reliability between last 7 days and 24 hours per visit was moderate (Pearson’s rall≥ 0.34, pall 0.40, pall 0.08, pall < 0.001). Associations of dietary components to anthropometric markers showed distinct sex differences, with overall higher intake by males compared to females and opposite associations of fiber intake and BMI in males compared to females. Links between nutrient intake relative to calorie intake and anthropometrics as well as serum markers remain inconclusive. Conclusion: We provide an openly available tool to systematically assess nutrient intake, including fiber, based on self-report by a common German FFQ. The computed nutrient scores resembled overall plausible and reliable measures of nutrient intake given the known limitations of FFQs regarding over- or underreporting. Our open code nutrient scoring can help to examine dietary intake in experimental studies, including dietary fiber and its subclasses, and can be readily adapted to other FFQs. Further validation of computed nutrients with biomarkers and nutrient-specific metabolites in serum, urine or feces will help to interpret self-reported dietary intake.Peer reviewe

Fat and Carbohydrate Interact to Potentiate Food Reward in Healthy Weight but Not in Overweight or Obesity

Prior work suggests that actual, but not estimated, energy density drives the reinforcing value of food and that energy from fat and carbohydrate can interact to potentiate reward. Here we sought to replicate these findings in an American sample and to determine if the effects are influenced by body mass index (BMI). Thirty participants with healthy weight (HW; BMI 21.92 ± 1.77; M ± SD) and 30 participants with overweight/obesity (OW/OB; BMI 29.42 ± 4.44) rated pictures of common American snacks in 120-kcal portions for liking, familiarity, frequency of consumption, expected satiety, healthiness, energy content, energy density, and price. Participants then completed an auction task where they bid for the opportunity to consume each food. Snacks contained either primarily carbohydrate, primarily fat, or roughly equal portions of fat and carbohydrate (combo). Replicating prior work, we found that participants with HW bid the most for combo foods in linear mixed model analyses. This effect was not observed among individuals with OW/OB. Additionally, in contrast with previous reports, our linear regression analyses revealed a negative relationship between the actual energy density of the snacks and bid amount that was mediated by food price. Our findings support altered macronutrient reinforcement in obesity and highlight potential influences of the food environment on the regulation of food reward

O'BRAIN Lab

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