Eating and drinking habits and their association with obesity in Japanese healthy adults

Few longitudinal studies have evaluated the association between eating and drinking habits and the risk of obesity. A 5-year longitudinal big data analysis was conducted in order to evaluate various eating and drinking habits and the risk of obesity.
Individuals without obesity who received medical check-ups from 2008 to 2012 and 5 years later from the Japan Medical Data Center Health check-up database were included in the study. The primary outcome was the incidence of obesity (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), and the secondary outcome was the incidence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥ 85 cm for men and 90 cm for women).
Of 123,182 individuals without obesity at baseline, the median age was 45 and 62·5 % were men. After 5 years, 5·8 % people developed obesity and 10·3% people developed abdominal obesity. Among six eating and drinking habits, skipping breakfast was associated with a higher risk of obesity (OR 1·21; 99% CI 1·10, 1·34). In contrast, occasional (OR 0·86; 99% CI 0·78, 0·94) or daily (OR 0·79; 99% CI 0·68, 0·91) drinking of alcoholic beverages was associated with a lower risk of obesity.
According to the 5-year longitudinal data, eating and drinking habits such as mild to moderate alcohol consumption and avoiding skipping breakfast may result in better obesity prevention. However, excess alcohol consumption would be harmful and should be avoided, the authors add.
Source: Seki, T., Takeuchi, M., & Kawakami, K. (2021). Eating and drinking habits and its association with obesity in Japanese healthy adults: Retrospective longitudinal big data analysis using a health check-up database. British Journal of Nutrition, 126(10), 1585-1591.