Is frequency of potato and white rice consumption associated with cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V study

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated the association of frequency of potato and rice consumption with cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. METHODS: This nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted on 14,400 children and adolescents. Fasting blood was obtained from a sub-sample of 4200 randomly selected students. Physical examination and laboratory tests were conducted under standard protocols. Metabolic Syndrome (Mets) was defined based on the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria modified for the pediatric age group. The self-reported frequency consumption of white rice and potato was reported on a daily or non-daily basis. RESULTS: The participation rate for the whole study and for blood sampling were 99 and 91.5%, respectively. Overall, 49.4% of the participants were girls while 50.6% were boys. The frequency of daily consumption of white rice and potato was 84.4 and 21.3%, respectively. In the multivariable linear regression model, daily consumption of potato increased body mass index (β: 0.05, SE: 0.20, p = 0.010), waist (β: 0.63, SE: 0.24, p = 0.008), and hip circumferences (β: 0.62, SE: 0.26, p = 0.019). Moreover, in the multivariable logistic regression, daily consumption of potato was significantly associated with an increased risk of overweight (OR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.04–1.39, P = 0.012). The potato and rice consumption had no statistically significant association with other cardiometabolic risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Daily consumption of potato was significantly associated with higher anthropometric measures, whereas rice consumption had no statistically significant association with cardiometabolic risk factors. Future research to examine the possible obesogenic effects of intake of potato on children and adolescents is recommended.