Consumo de lácteos y asociación con el exceso de peso en adultos chilenos

Background: The objective of this study is to associate dairy consumption with body mass index (BMI) in adults in Chile. Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study, the participants correspond to 2276 healthy adults of 18 years or older, in different regions. Each participant answers a survey which includes an eating habit questionnaire (consumption frequency), a physical activity questionnaire (complies or not with 150 min / week), and a smoking habit questionnaire (consumption or non-consumption). This data is complemented with direct measurement of weight and height. Results: Negative correlations were observed between the frequency of dairy consumption with weight (p<0.001) and BMI (p<0.001). When comparing the tertile with the highest vs. the tertile with the lowest consumption of dairy products, the group with the highest consumption has a significantly lower weight, BMI and higher food score than the tertile with the lowest consumption in those <30 years (<0.001), but not in the other age groups. Finally, dairy intake is associated with lower weight, both in the raw model and in model 1 (OR:0.623; CI95% 0.514-0.755), however, in model 2 this association is lost (OR:0.934; CI95% 0.739-1.181). Conclusions: The tertile with the highest consumption of dairy products has a lower weight, BMI and a higher score in healthy eating, however, when making the final associations, the consumption of dairy products is shown as a protective factor against excess weight only in the first 2 models.