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The association of incident abdominal obesity with diet and unfavorable lifestyle factors in Korean adults: A prospective cohort study.

  • 2026-01-02
  • Medicine 105(1)
    • Jieun Kim
    • Kyoungsik Jeong
    • Siwoo Lee
    • Younghwa Baek

Study Design

Type
Observational
Sample size
n = 2,000
Population
1697 Korean adults (mean age 43.8 ± 0.2 years, 72.4% women) from a baseline of 2000 participants
Methods
Cox proportional hazard regression; lifestyle and dietary risk factors assessed via questionnaire, blood samples, and health examinations
Funding
Unclear
Unhealthy lifestyles are strongly associated with the development of cardiometabolic diseases and the risk of all-cause mortality. We hypothesized that unhealthy lifestyles including poor diet contribute to the development of cardiometabolic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its clustering components in relation to diet and lifestyle risk factors in Korean population. At baseline, all participants (n = 2000) completed a general health-related questionnaire, provided blood samples, and underwent health examinations. Lifestyle factors were investigated including smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep, dietary quality, and weight status. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of primary endpoints: MetS events and their clustering components. A total of 1697 participants (mean age: 43.8 ± 0.2 years) were included, of whom 72.4% (n = 1228) were women. Compared to the healthy group, unhealthy participants had a significant HR value of abdominal obesity for lifestyle factors (HRs: 1.937, 95% CI: 1.335-2.810). No significant differences were observed between MetS and other clustering components. After adjusting for covariates, the lowest quintile of vitamin C (HRs: 1.553, 95% CI: 1.153-2.091), fiber (HRs: 1.409, 95% CI: 1.035-1.919) and vegetable intake (HRs: 1.300, 95% CI: 1.008-1.678) were significantly associated with abdominal obesity incidence compared with the highest quintile. Adherence to healthy lifestyle factors and dietary factors, such as high intakes of vitamin C and vegetables, were negatively associated with the incidence of abdominal obesity among the MetS components in Korean adults.

Research Insights

  • Vitamin C→Reduced Abdominal Obesity Incidence

    the lowest quintile of vitamin C (HRs: 1.553, 95% CI: 1.153-2.091) ... were significantly associated with abdominal obesity incidence compared with the highest quintile.

    Effect
    Beneficial
    Effect size
    Large
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