Association of processed meat intake and obesity in a population-based study of Japanese-Brazilians

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the consumption of processed meat with overall, abdominal, and overall with abdominal obesity in a Japanese- Brazilian population, which is known to be at cardiometabolic risk. Subjects and methods: A total of 329 men and 443 women aged >= 30 years were evaluated in a cross-sectional population- based survey. Diagnosis of overall obesity and abdominal obesity were based on the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for Asians. Food intake was assessed by a validated food frequency questionaire. Results: In men, processed meat intake was positively associated with overall with abdominal obesity (OR 2.97; 95% CI 1.13-7.78) after adjustment. In women, only the red meat group was associated with overall with abdominal obesity after adjustment (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.23-0.96). Conclusion: Our results showed that high intakes of processed meats were associated with overall with abdominal obesity in male Japanese-Brazilians, but not in females.