Associations of dietary anthocyanidins intake with body composition in Chinese children: a cross-sectional study

Background Previous animal and in vitro studies indicated that anthocyanidins might contribute to the prevention of obesity, while epidemiological evidences were scarce and had not been conducted in children. Objective We explored the associations between anthocyanidins and body composition in children. Design A cross-sectional study involving 452 children aged 6–9 years in Guangzhou, China, was carried out. Dietary information was collected using a 79-items food frequency questionnaire. Fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), and fat mass percentage (FMP) at multi-sites (whole body, trunk, limbs, android area, and gynoid area) were measured using a dual-energy X-ray scan. Abdominal obesity was defined as an age- and sex-specific abdominal FM ≥ 85th percentile. Handgrip strength was measured using a hydraulic hand dynamometer. Results After adjusted for several potential covariates, higher dietary intake of anthocyanidin (per one standard deviation increase) was associated with a 0.013–0.223 kg increase of LM, a 0.024–0.134 kg decrease of FM, and a 0.63–0.76% decrease of FMP at multi-sites ( P < 0.05). Results were similar and more pronounced for delphinidin and cyanidin, but less significant for peonidin. Higher dietary anthocyanidin intake (per standard deviation increase) was associated with a 41.0% ( OR : 0.59, 95%CI : 0.37, 0.94) decreased risk of abdominal obesity. However, no significant associations were observed between anthocyanidin and handgrip strengths. Conclusions Higher dietary intake of anthocyanidin and its components tended to be associated with better body composition, but not handgrip strength, in Chinese children at early age.