Exploring the Relationship Between Dietary Inflammatory Index, Eating Disorder, and Body Composition Among University Students in the UAE: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Dietary inflammatory potential and disordered eating behaviors may influence body composition among young adults. This study aimed to examine the associations between the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII), eating attitudes assessed using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26), and body composition among university students in the United Arab Emirates.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 911 university students aged 18-30 years, of whom 50.5% were female. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire, and DII scores were calculated using 28 available dietary parameters. Eating attitudes were assessed using the EAT-26, and anthropometric and body-composition measurements were obtained using standardized procedures.

RESULTS

Based on BMI, 26.1% of participants were living with overweight and 11.9% were living with obesity. The mean DII score was -0.77, and 75.4% of participants had an anti-inflammatory dietary profile, the mean E-DII score was 2.24 (SD 1.07), with 96.8% classified as pro-inflammatory. Based on EAT-26 scores, 30.3% were classified as being at major eating-disorder risk. Compared with the pro-inflammatory group, participants in the anti-inflammatory group had significantly lower body fat percentage and fat mass and higher total body water percentage. DII showed a significant but weak negative correlation with total body water percentage only; no other significant DII correlations with body composition were observed. EAT-26 scores were significantly associated with several body-composition measures, including body mass index, fat mass, and visceral fat rating. As a sensitivity analysis, EAT-26 scores also differed significantly by E-DII group (mean difference = 5.34, 95% CI: 0.65-10.04, p = 0.026), with higher scores in the anti-inflammatory group.

CONCLUSION

Eating attitudes showed stronger associations with body-composition measures than dietary inflammatory potential in this population. Hence, promoting healthy eating behaviors and identifying disordered eating risk among university students are important.