Carbohydrates and Health

Body fatness and fat distribution
8.156 Three cohort studies were identified that presented evidence on diets differing
in dietary fibre content and body fatness and fat distribution (Johnson et al.,
2008; Cheng et al., 2009; Albertson et al., 2009). One study reported grams of
fibre consumed per day and anthropometric data at puberty onset and over
the subsequent 4 years (Cheng et al., 2009). Another study determined dietary
fibre density in the diets of UK children aged 5 and 7 years, and fatness at 9 years
(Johnson et al., 2008). The third study reported the cumulative percentage of days
that girls consumed cereal during childhood (between ages 11.5 and 18.6 years),
and percentage body fat at 18.6 years of age (Albertson et al., 2009). It is unclear
whether in this study, ‘cereal’ refers to breakfast cereals only or to total cereals.
The outcomes of the studies were assessed differently: by skinfold measurements
(Cheng et al., 2009), by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (Johnson et al., 2008)
and by bioimpedance (Albertson et al., 2009).
8.157 No significant association is indicated between dietary fibre intake and body
fatness in two of the studies, but one does indicate that girls who ate cereal on
a greater percentage of days during childhood had a lower percentage body fat
and were more likely to exhibit higher levels of physical activity (Albertson et al.,
2009). Overall, none of the results support a strong relationship between dietary
fibre intake and adiposity in children.
Dietary fibre (g/day) and body fatness
• No association
• Limited evidence
Outcomes where there is insufficient or inconsistent
evidence 13
8.158 The tables below detail the exposures and outcomes where there are two or
fewer studies that meet the inclusion criteria for the review (e.g. by study duration,
publication date, health of subjects, design of intervention), or where the studies
are too inconsistent, to draw a conclusion as per the grading system in Annex 2.
A full description of the studies can be found in the relevant systematic reviews.
Table 8.1: Insufficient evidence - cohort studies
Risk factor/health outcome/measure
Cardiovascular disease events
Coronary events
Exposure
legume fibre
whole grain foods
bread
legumes
140
13 See Annex 2 paragraph A2.21 for criteria.