Advanced glycation end products and risk of general and abdominal obesity in Iranian adults: Tehran lipid and glucose study

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a heterogeneous group of macromolecules that are formed by the non-enzymatic glycation of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. A number of food preparation methods can increase AGEs content. The aim of the present study is to assess the relationship between dietary consumption of AGEs and the risk of obesity and central obesity.

This study was conducted within the framework of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) on 4245 subjects who participated in its fifth phase (2011 to 2014). Dietary data were collected using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Participants’ characteristics, anthropometric measures, and blood samples were also obtained by trained staff. Multivariable linear regression and Logistic regression was conducted using SPSS (Version 20; Chicago, IL), and P values < 0.05 were considered significant.

Our results show that abdominal obesity was increased with higher intakes of dietary AGEs, an association, which remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders (OR=1.56 and 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.84). The relationship between abdominal obesity and dietary AGEs (dAGEs) intake was found to be independent of energy and macronutrient intake. We also found a relationship between consumption of dAGEs and a few anthropometric measurements, such that a significant positive correlation was observed between BMI, WC, BAI and higher quartiles of dAGEs intake, with the correlation being stronger for BAI (β= 0.24 (0.10-0.39)).

Our study emphasizes that higher intake of dAGEs does increase the chance of abdominal obesity, and dAGEs might be a link between modern diets and obesity.