Childhood obesity is associated with both near- and longer-term health implications. Few studies have been conducted to explore the associations between dietary patterns and obesity among Chinese children and adolescents. The present study was designed to identify dietary patterns and their relationships with childhood obesity in medium and small cities. This is a cross-sectional study of children participants aged 6–17 years old in the 2010–2012 China Nutrition and Health Survey (CNHS). Socio-demographics, life-style, physical activity, anthropometric variables, and hundred-item food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) were collected. Household income was classified as low, middle, and high. Traffic tools, from non-advanced to advanced, included walking, biking, bus, and car. Dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis of data from FFQs. Two dietary patterns were identified: a Westernized pattern (i.e., high cakes, snacks, sugary beverages, aquatic products, red meat, fruits, and nuts) and a Traditional Chinese pattern (i.e., high cereals, tubers, legumes, fried cereal food, and vegetables). The Westernized pattern was positively correlated with energy intake, household income, traffic tools, and negative correlated with age and housework time. The Traditional Chinese pattern was positively correlated with age, energy intake, and housework time, and negatively correlated with household income and traffic tools. After adjusting for confounding factors, the Westernized pattern was found to be associated with BMI increment, yielding β coefficients (95% confidence interval, 95% CI) of 0.57 (0.40, 0.85) for the fourth quartile. In addition, the Westernized pattern was also found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of obesity, yielding an odds ratio (OR, 95% CI) of 1.49 (1.21, 1.84) from fully-adjusted confounders. Promoting healthier eating patterns could help to prevent obesity in Chinese children. The findings of this study could be used to guide the development of evidence-based preventive nutrition interventions to curb childhood obesity epidemic in small–medium cities in China.

The aim of this study was to examine the status of usual dietary micronutrient intakes among Chinese elderly living at home. The data was based on China National Nutrition and Health Survey (CNNHS) 2010–2012. We analyzed data from the participants aged 60-year-old and more (n = 16,612) living at home, who provided dietary data on three days 24 h dietary survey combining with the household weighing method. The means and distribution percentiles for usual intakes of dietary micronutrients were estimated using the Multiple Source Method (MSM). The prevalence of inadequacy for the selected micronutrients was expressed using the proportion of individuals with usual intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR). For vitamin E, sodium and potassium, the means and the distribution of intakes were compared to the Adequate Intake (AI) level. Usual dietary intakes of most micronutrients were inadequate in the participants, especially folate, calcium, vitamin B₆ and vitamin B₂, with the prevalence of inadequacy more than 90%. However, dietary sodium intake was extremely high with an average usual intake of 4702 mg/day. The usual dietary intakes of all selected micronutrients in old males were higher than females, and the prevalence of inadequacy of most micronutrients was higher in old women (p < 0.01). The subjects aged 60–74 years tended to have higher usual dietary micronutrient intakes and lower prevalence of inadequate micronutrients than those aged 75 years and over (p < 0.01). Higher usual dietary intakes and lower prevalence of inadequacy of most micronutrients were found in the elderly living in the southern region (p < 0.01). The average usual intakes of most micronutrients declined with socioeconomic status. The prevalence of inadequate vitamin A, B₂, C, calcium and selenium below EAR increased with socioeconomic status (p < 0.01, p for trend < 0.01). Thus, essential micronutrients insufficient intake is a public health concern among Chinese community-dwelling old population, especially the females, older people, the elderly in undeveloped areas or living in northern regions. Nutrition education and appropriate approach should be undertaken to address these problems.

Undernutrition during early life may lead to obesity in adulthood. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between famine exposure during early life and the risk of abdominal obesity in adulthood. A total of 18,984 and 16,594 adults were surveyed in 2002 and 2010–2012 in two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys, namely China Nutrition and Health Survey, respectively. The risk of abdominal obesity was evaluated for participants born during 1956–1961 and compared with that of participants born during 1962–1964. The overall prevalence of abdominal obesity in adulthood showed a positive association with famine exposure during early life. The odds ratios of famine exposure were 1.31 (1.19–1.44) and 1.28 (1.17–1.40) in 2002 during fetal life and infancy and 1.09 (1.00–1.19) in 2012 during fetal life, respectively. The relationships between famine exposure and abdominal obesity across the famine exposure groups were distinct among females and those who lived in urban areas and were physical inactive (p < 0.05). Exposure to famine during early life was associated with increased risks of abdominal obesity in adulthood, which was partially alleviated by healthy lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity).

Dietary cholesterol intake increased dramatically over the past two decades in the elderly Chinese population. However, the nationwide dietary cholesterol intake and its related factors seldom been investigated. Based on data from 16,594 participants aged 60 years or older (49.0% male, 54.8% urban residents) from the China National Nutrition and Health Survey (CNHS) 2010–2012, we aimed to describe the intake of cholesterol and major food contributions, as well as its association with serum cholesterol level and relationship with protein intake. Mean daily cholesterol intake for all participants was 217.4 mg, the mean cholesterol intakes in urban and rural areas were 264.0 mg and 168.8 mg, respectively. Cholesterol intake levels varied by age, gender, BMI and region (p < 0.001). In addition, the proportion of all participants who consumed greater than 300 mg of cholesterol per day was 26.6%. Eggs, red meats, and seafood were the top three food sources and their contributions to total daily cholesterol intake were 57.7%, 24.0% and 10.9% respectively. Serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were related to dietary cholesterol intake, with each 100 mg increase in dietary cholesterol intake apparently leading to a 0.035 mmol/L (p = 0.001) increase in serum TC and a 0.038 mmol/L (p < 0.001) increase in LDL-C. The partial correlation coefficients between dietary cholesterol and total protein, high-quality protein, intake of protein per kilogram body weight (BW), and high-quality protein percentage were 0.538, 0.580, 0.426, and 0.548, respectively, after adjusting for age, gender, and energy, fat and carbohydrate intakes (p < 0.001). In conclusion, there was a substantial urban-rural difference in cholesterol intake. Eggs and red meat were the main sources of dietary cholesterol intake. Serum TC and LDL-C were associated with dietary cholesterol and the response was linear. Dietary cholesterol intake was closely related to the intake of high-quality protein.