Population-based analysis of the association between composite dietary antioxidant index and pediatric obesity

Pediatric obesity represents a growing global concern, with prior research predominantly focusing on nutritional factors. This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring the association between the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) and pediatric obesity metrics, specifically body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2009-2018, we analyzed 10,019 participants aged 6-18 years with complete data using multivariate linear regression models and smoothing fit curves. Our findings indicate a significant negative correlation between CDAI and BMI (β = −0.04, 95% CI: −0.09, −0.00, p = 0.0367) and WHtR (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.15, −0.02, p = 0.0089). Furthermore, a one-unit increase in CDAI is associated with a 1.9% reduction in the odds of obesity as determined by WHtR (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.00, p = 0.0342). Notably, the strength of these negative associations varied across different subgroups. These results illustrate a linear negative relationship between CDAI and both BMI and WHtR, providing novel insights into the potential protective role of antioxidant-rich diets against pediatric obesity. [NPID: antioxidant, obesity, pediatric]

Year: 2025

Reference: Zhou, Q., Wu, Y., Xu, H., Xie, H., Yang, R., & Huang, H. (2025). Population-based analysis of the association between composite dietary antioxidant index and pediatric obesity. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1617384. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1617384