Diet quality, dietary patterns and physical activity associated with excess body weight, atherogenic markers, and cardiovascular risk in adults from Cartagena, Colombia

Background: Overweight and obesity are priority global public health problems, because they have pandemic dimensions, and they are important cardiometabolic risk factors for the development of other chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancers, etc., the main causes of morbidity, mortality, and preventable disease globally. Objective: The main objective was to evaluate associations between diet quality, dietary patterns, and physical activity with anthropometric indices of body adiposity and cardiovascular risk (CVR), as well as with markers of atherogenesis and Framingham International and Colombia CVR scores in adults from Cartagena. Methodology: Cross-sectional prevalence study, which included native adults from Cartagena, screened between September/2023 and January/2024. Three main groups were formed: Normal weight, overweight, and obesity. In turn, obesity was classified as type I, II and III. The same general sampling unit (GSU) was divided as Non-diabetics, Insulin-resistants, type 2 diabetics, type 2 diabetic-Hypertensives, nondiabetic Hypertensives, and uncontrolled Hypertensives. Health professionals performed anamnesis, anthropometry, nutritional/physical activity assessment, and blood sampling. Results: Prevalence proportions were 99% for self-reported family history of NCDs, 92.7% for poor and regular diet quality, 60.3% for physical inactivity, 50% for atherogenic diet, and 46.3% for alcoholism. Prevalence proportions of 50% for high CVR, and 33% for very high CVR were 5-years forecasted. In type 2 diabetics, and type 2 diabetic Hypertensives, the 10-year forecasted CVR was estimated as high and very high, respectively, according to the Framingham Colombia scale. Conclusions: Poor and regular diet quality, atherogenic and Western dietary patterns, physical inactivity, glycaemia, insulinemia, HOMA-IR, insulin resistance status, adiponectinemia, and atherogenic markers were associated with increased obesity, central obesity, arterial hypertension, and CVR.