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. 2022 Mar 3;19:15. doi: 10.1186/s12986-022-00650-y

Table 5.

Participant’s characteristics according to quartiles of dietary saturated fatty acid (%TE) intake

Characteristics2 Q1 (n = 78) Q2 (n = 101) Q3 (n = 109) Q4 (n = 103) p value1
(1.9–10.0%TE) (10.1–11.9%TE) (12.0–14.8%TE) (14.9–38.7%TE)
Weight, kg 68.4 ± 1.3 69.5 ± 1.2 72.5 ± 1.1 69.9 ± 1.2 0.10
BMI, kg/m2 23.0 (20.8–25.4) 23.2 (21.4–25.5) 24.1 (22.0–27.0) 23.6 (21.5–25.7) 0.20
WC, cm 82.5 ± 1.1 83.5 ± 1.0 85.4 ± 1.0 83.3 ± 1.0 0.21
HC, cm 100 ± 1 100 ± 1 103 ± 1 101 ± 1 0.06
WHR 0.83 ± 0.01 0.83 ± 0.01 0.83 ± 0.01 0.83 ± 0.01 0.99
WHtR 0.49 ± 0.01 0.49 ± 0.01 0.50 ± 0.01 0.49 ± 0.01 0.42
Blood pressure, mmHg
SBP 120 ± 2ab 121 ± 1ab 117 ± 1b 123 ± 2a 0.01
DBP 71 ± 1 72 ± 1 71 ± 1 72 ± 1 0.83
Pulse pressure 48 ± 1ab 49 ± 1a 45 ± 1b 50 ± 1a < 0.01
Body composition measures
Body fat, % 28.4 ± 0.8 28.3 ± 0.7 29.1 ± 0.7 27.6 ± 0.7 0.53
Android fat, % 30.5 ± 1.4 30.8 ± 1.2 31.6 ± 1.2 29.6 ± 1.2 0.68
Gynoid fat, % 32.5 ± 0.8 32.2 ± 0.7 33.2 ± 0.7 31.6 ± 0.7 0.47
A/G fat ratio 0.94 ± 0.03 0.96 ± 0.02 0.97 ± 0.02 0.94 ± 0.02 0.79
Fat mass, kg 17.7 (12.3–25.3) 17.9 (14.5–25.0) 20.2 (16.1–25.4) 19.0 (14.3–24.0) 0.21
Lean mass, kg 46.8 ± 0.8 48.0 ± 0.7 49.2 ± 0.7 48.3 ± 0.7 0.12
Android fat mass, kg 1.63 ± 0.12 1.57 ± 0.10 1.72 ± 0.10 1.54 ± 0.10 0.58
Android lean mass, kg 3.19 ± 0.06a 3.30 ± 0.05ab 3.42 ± 0.05b 3.28 ± 0.05ab 0.02
Abdominal VAT, g 562 ± 56 582 ± 50 651 ± 48 562 ± 49 0.53
Indexes
VAI 1.05 ± 0.08 1.02 ± 0.07 1.06 ± 0.07 0.94 ± 0.07 0.61
Biochemistry
TC, mmol/L 5.17 ± 0.11ab 4.91 ± 0.10a 5.10 ± 0.09ab 5.39 ± 0.09b 0.01
TAG, mmol/L 0.84 (0.67–1.18) 0.82 (0.65–1.07) 0.84 (0.66–1.28) 0.84 (0.67–1.11) 0.59
HDL-C, mmol/L 1.67 ± 0.04 1.61 ± 0.04 1.61 ± 0.04 1.73 ± 0.04 0.05
LDL-C, mmol/L 3.00 ± 1.00ab 2.87 ± 0.08a 3.04 ± 0.08ab 3.23 ± 0.08b 0.03
Non-HDL, mmol/L 3.50 ± 0.10ab 3.31 ± 0.09a 3.49 ± 0.09ab 3.66 ± 0.09b 0.05
TC: HDL-C 2.95 (2.65–3.71) 2.94 (2.61–3.44) 3.03 (2.61–3.81) 3.15 (2.61–3.83) 0.61
LDL-C: HDL-C 1.69 (1.43–2.23) 1.71 (1.42–2.13) 1.82 (1.41–2.42) 1.90 (1.41–2.40) 0.50
NEFA, μmol/L 390 (327–534) 403 (294–500) 441 (310–560) 456 (340–598) 0.36
Glucose, mmol/L 4.98 ± 0.05 5.08 ± 0.04 5.01 ± 0.04 5.02 ± 0.04 0.49
CRP, mg/L 0.49 (0.25–1.29) 0.59 (0.27–1.37) 0.66 (0.38–1.54) 0.66 (0.29–1.69) 0.79
Uric acid, µmol/L 270 ± 7 275 ± 6 289 ± 6 282 ± 6 0.14
Adiponectin, µg/mL 6.03 (2.50–10.62)a 4.93 (2.39–7.99)ab 4.09 (1.99–8.12)b 5.45 (3.11–9.87)ab 0.03
Total 25-Hydroxyvitamin D, ng/mL 22.3 ± 1.3 24.3 ± 1.2 24.3 ± 1.1 24.2 ± 1.2 0.63
Insulin, pmol/L 26.0 (20.3–37.5) 26.5 (17.3–38.6) 22.4 (15.9–40.1) 28.7 (18.3–42.7) 0.61
HOMA-IR 1.00 (0.68–1.44) 1.00 (0.65–1.53) 0.85 (0.58–1.44) 1.15 (0.66–1.63) 0.60
Dietary intake
Energy, kcal/day 1906 ± 61 2045 ± 54 2055 ± 51 2092 ± 53 0.13
Energy, MJ/day 7.98 ± 0.26 8.56 ± 0.22 8.60 ± 0.22 8.75 ± 0.22 0.13
Total fat, %TE 28.2 ± 0.7a 34.3 ± 0.6b 36.5 ± 0.6b 44.9 ± 0.6c < 0.01
 MUFA, %TE 11.0 ± 0.4b 13.3 ± 0.3a 13.8 ± 0.3a 16.1 ± 0.3c < 0.01
 PUFA, %TE 5.97 ± 0.24 6.39 ± 0.21 6.04 ± 0.20 6.24 ± 0.21 0.52
 n-6 PUFA, %TE 5.64 ± 0.33ab 6.48 ± 0.29a 5.53 ± 0.28ab 5.00 ± 0.28b < 0.01
 n-3 PUFA, %TE 0.84 ± 0.07ab 0.87 ± 0.06ab 0.76 ± 0.06a 0.98 ± 0.06b 0.06
 PUFA/SFA 0.81 ± 0.03a 0.58 ± 0.03b 0.46 ± 0.03c 0.34 ± 0.03d < 0.01
 MUFA/SFA 1.44 ± 0.04a 1.21 ± 0.03b 1.04 ± 0.03c 0.89 ± 0.03d < 0.01
 Trans fat, %TE 0.30 (0.23–0.40)a 0.41 (0.31–0.54)b 0.53 (0.43–0.68)c 0.76 (0.56–0.96)d < 0.01
Protein, %TE 17.6 (14.7–20.5) 18.1 (15.7–20.9) 16.5 (14.5–19.2) 16.5 (14.5–19.8) 0.44
Carbohydrate, %TE 54.1 ± 1.1b 47.3 ± 0.9a 46.1 ± 0.9a 37.7 ± 0.9c < 0.01
 Fiber (AOAC), g/day 27.3 ± 1.0a 26.3 ± 0.9ab 23.8 ± 0.8b 20.5 ± 0.8c < 0.01
 Total Sugars, %TE 19.6 ± 0.7 18.9 ± 0.6 19.4 ± 0.6 17.1 ± 0.6 0.03
Physical activity level
Steps/day 9786 (7583–12,573) 9153 (6883–11,523) 8937 (6876–11,973) 8177 (6715–11,206) 0.25
Energy expended (kcal/day) 296 (164–525) 265 (162–450) 249 (146–385) 231 (144–330) 0.16
Percentage time spent per day
 Sedentary 70.0 ± 0.9 69.7 ± 0.8 69.8 ± 0.8 70.1 ± 0.8 0.98
 Performing light PA 25.0 ± 0.8 25.7 ± 0.7 25.6 ± 0.7 25.4 ± 0.7 0.89
 Performing moderate to vigorous PA 4.6 (2.9–6.8) 4.2 (3.1–6.4) 4.0 (2.5–6.6) 4.0 (2.5–5.6) 0.64

AOAC Association of Official Analytical Chemist, CRP C-reactive protein, DBP diastolic blood pressure, HC hip circumference, HDL-C high density lipoprotein cholesterol, LDL-C low density lipoprotein cholesterol, MUFA monounsaturated fatty acids, NEFA non-esterified fatty acids, PA physical activity, PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acids, SFA saturated fatty acids, SBP systolic blood pressure, TC total cholesterol, TAG triacylglycerol, UA uric acid, VAI visceral adiposity index, WC waist circumference, WHR waist to hip ratio, WHtR waist to height ratio

1Data were analysed by ANCOVA with age and sex as covariates and presented as estimated mariginal means ± SE or median (interquartile range); p ≤ 0.05 considered significant

2Sample sizes differ as follows: Blood pressure, Q1 n = 77, Q2 n = 101, Q3 n = 107, Q4 n = 103; body composition measures, Q1 n = 72, Q2 n = 91, Q3 n = 98, Q4 n = 94; VAI, Q1 n = 78, Q2 n = 99, Q3 n = 103, Q4 n = 103; biochemistry, Q1 n = 78, Q2 n = 100, Q3 n = 106, Q4 n = 103; NEFA, Q1 n = 72, Q2 n = 89, Q3 n = 92, Q4 n = 94; CRP, Q1 n = 77, Q2 n = 99, Q3 n = 106, Q4 n = 103; UA, adiponectin and 25-hydroxyvitamin D, Q1 n = 72, Q2 n = 90, Q3 n = 95, Q4 n = 94; insulin and HOMA-IR, Q1 n = 52, Q2 n = 71, Q3 n = 67, Q4 n = 69; dietary intake, Q1 n = 78, Q2 n = 101, Q3 n = 109, Q4 n = 103; physical activity, Q1 n = 69, Q2 n = 80, Q3 n = 84, Q4 n = 85; steps/day, Q1 n = 66, Q2 n = 77, Q3 n = 77, Q4 n = 81