Dietary habits prone to lifestyle-related disease

Objective: To evaluate relations among dietary habits, bone mineral density (BMD), visceral fat area (VFA), and arterial stiffness and recommend better dietary habits. Methods: One hundred and six men and 381 women (aged 18–84) received a health checkup and answered questionnaires, with subsequent measurements of BMD (speed of sound), VFA (bioelectrical impedance), and arterial stiffness (acceleration plethysmography). Results: Snacking, intake of meat, fried foods, sweet foods, and instant foods were associated with higher BMD; regular lunch hours, skipping meals, calorie restriction, and eating moderate amounts were associated with lower BMD as indicated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis. Only skipping meals was an independent factor of high BMD. Age was an independent factor of low BMD, large VFA, and high arterial stiffness. Female sex was an independent factor of low BMD and VFA as indicated using multiple regression analysis. Conclusions and implications: BMD was associated with eating behaviours and food contents, among which only skipping meals was an independent contributor.