Approved research

Dietary patterns, body composition and cardiovascular disease

Lay summary

Traditional nutritional research focuses on the health implications of single nutrients or foods. However, the study of whole dietary patterns (DP) can simultaneously account for the combined and interactive effects of different components of the diet. Aims: - To identify a DP characterized by key components for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention: energy density, saturated fat, sugar, salt and fibre. - To produce reference values for body composition (fat mass and muscle mass) to classify individuals across the age spectrum. - To investigate the direct associations between the dietary pattern and CVD risk and the indirect associations mediated through body composition. This proposal is central to the UK Biobank?s aims to improve disease prevention and promote health throughout society. Using a dietary pattern approach will inform the development of food-based dietary guidelines that may be more easily translated to the general public than current nutrient-based recommendations for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and increase the public health impact. In phase 1, we will use the 24-h dietary recalls to identify food-based dietary patterns (DP) characterised by nutrients known to have an association with health outcomes. We will produce reference values for body composition measures, including fat mass and skeletal muscle mass. Phase 2 will use data on health status to investigate the direct association between the DP and the risk of cardiovascular disease and the indirect effect mediated through body composition. The first step will use data from all participants (~210,000) included in the full baseline cohort that completed at least one 24-h recall dietary questionnaire and had data on body composition measures (e.g. anthropometry and bioimpedance). The second step will use health outcome data from the repeat subsample (~20,000) participants (e.g. blood parameters, blood pressure) who completed at least one 24-h recall at baseline (~14,000). Further information on health outcomes and events will be also requested when mortality, hospital admissions, primary care data and other registries linked to the UKBB population become available.