Lower intake of animal-based products links to improved weight status, independent of depressive symptoms and personality in the general population

Abstract

BackgroundRestricting animal-based products from diet may exert beneficial effects on weight status, however whether this is also true for emotional health is unclear. Moreover, differential personality traits may underlie restrictive eating habits and therefore potentially confound diet-health associations. To systematically assess whether restrictive dietary intake of animal-based products relates to lower weight and higher depressive symptoms, and how this is linked to personality traits in the general population. MethodsCross-sectional data was taken from the baseline LIFE-Adult study collected from 2011-2014 in Leipzig, Germany (n = 8943). Main outcomes of interest were 12-month dietary frequency of animal-derived products measured using a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2), and the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Personality traits were assessed in a subsample of n = 7906 using the Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). FindingsHigher restriction of animal-based product intake was associated with a lower BMI (age-, sex- and education-adjusted, n = 8943; {beta} = -.07, p View larger version (23K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f81d8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@85bd35org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@48fd83org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fbc053_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG