Relationships of Dietary Histidine and Obesity in Northern Chinese Adults, an Internet-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Nutrients
Q1
Jul 2016
Citations:48
Influential Citations:2
Observational Studies (Human)
83
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Methods
Internet-based cross-sectional study in northern Chinese adults evaluating associations between dietary histidine and obesity. 2376 participants completed the IDQC to assess dietary histidine intake; 88 overweight/obese participants (44 men and 44 women) were selected for mechanistic subgroup analyses with OGTT and biomarker measurements. From 3626 invited, 2995 participated; 619 exclusions applied (incomplete IDQC, extreme energy intake, BMI <18.5, or diabetes/recent dieting). Overweight/obesity defined by Chinese BMI cutoffs (overweight: 24.0–27.9; obesity: ≥28.0); abdominal obesity defined as WC ≥85 cm in men or ≥80 cm in women. Dietary histidine was estimated from IDQC (total histidine from protein, peptides, and free form). Measurements included anthropometrics, BP, fasting and 2 h postprandial glucose, insulin, lipids; inflammation markers (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, CRP), adiponectin and vaspin; oxidative stress markers (SOD, GSH-Px, MDA). Analyses used correlation and logistic regression adjusting for covariates (age, gender, education, income, occupation, exercise, dietary carbohydrate/fat/protein/cholesterol/fiber, smoking); three models reported. Ethics approval and online informed consent obtained.
Results
Higher dietary histidine intake is associated with lower BMI, waist circumference, and blood pressure; higher histidine intake links to lower prevalence of overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity. Multivariable-adjusted ORs for overweight/obesity: 0.745 (0.572–0.969) for the 3rd quartile and 0.650 (0.482–0.876) for the 4th quartile vs 1st quartile. For abdominal obesity, ORs were 0.716 (0.539–0.952) for Q2, 0.809 (0.597–0.995) for Q3, and 0.754 (0.545–0.943) for Q4, with stronger significance in women. In overweight/obese participants, higher histidine is associated with lower fasting glucose, HOMA-IR, 2 h-PG, and inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, CRP) and vaspin, and higher antioxidant markers (GSH-Px, SOD) and adiponectin (all p<0.05). Interpretation: higher dietary histidine may contribute to lower obesity prevalence by reducing energy intake and improving insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress, particularly in women. Practical implication: promoting histidine-rich foods could aid weight management in overweight/obese individuals; long-term cohort studies are needed to confirm causality.
Limitations
Cross-sectional design limits causal inference; potential reverse causality; population limited to northern Chinese adults; lack of data on histidine-containing peptides; possible residual confounding; dietaryAssessment reliance on self-report (IDQC).

Abstract

Our previous studies have demonstrated that histidine supplementation significantly ameliorates inflammation and oxidative stress in obese women and high-fat diet-induced obese rats. However, the effects of dietary histidine on general population are...