Gender differences in the relationships between dietary phytosterols intake and prevalence of obesity in Chinese population

To investigate the associations between different phytosterols (PSs) intake and subtype of obesity in Chinese. Total 6073 adults aged ≥18 years was enrolled from China. General characteristics were completed by the validated dietary questionnaire. For total phytosterols intake, comparing Q4 with Q1 was inversely associated with the risks of overweight [odds ratio (OR) 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.82 (0.69, 0.96), p < .05]. The intake of stigmasterol, β‐sitosterol, β‐sitostanol and campestanol were associated with the lower risks of obesity, whereas no significant correlationss were found between campesterol intake and any subtype of obesity in the multivariable‐adjusted model. Interestingly, the stigmasterol intake was inversely related with the prevalence of central obesity in female, while the β‐sitostanol intake was found in male [OR 95% CI in Q3 of 0.78 (0.60–0.99) and 0.71 (0.56–0.91), respectively; p < .05]. The multiple linear regression models showed that fruits, vegetable‐oil, nuts and seeds may be important diet sources of PSs. The intake of total PSs, β‐sitosterol, stigmasterol, β‐sitostanol and campestanol were inversely associated with the prevalence of obesity. Moreover, the lower obesity risk for total PSs and PSs subgroups differed for the gender. The firm results deserve to be further verified in cohort studies.