Higher BMI equates to greater nutrient shortfalls

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — A study published this month in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition concluded that body weight status is associated with inadequate intake of micronutrients, specifically that the higher an individual's body mass index or BMI, the greater the nutrient shortfalls. 

 

"Insufficiency of micronutrient intake is a global nutrition issue," said Victor Fulgoni, SVP Nutrition Impact and corresponding study author. "The NHANES data shows that a high percent of the population have problems meeting recommended nutrient intake for vitamins A, C, D and E, magnesium and calcium." Nutrient shortfalls are nutrient intakes that do not meet estimated average requirements (EAR), which is established by the Institute of Medicine.

 

While the majority of Americans are lacking adequate nutrient intake, the study revealed that overweight and obese adults are at a higher risk for nutrient inadequacy. Compared to normal weight adults, obese adults had about 5% to 12% lower intakes of micronutrients and higher prevalence of nutrient inadequacy. For example, 48% of normal weight individuals don't meet the EAR for calcium, while 50% of overweight and 51% of obese individuals fall short of calcium requirements. Also, 45% of normal weight individuals don't meet the EAR for vitamin A, while 50% of overweight and 52% of obese individuals fall short of vitamin A requirements. What's more, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 67% of Americans are overweight or obese.

 

"To our knowledge this is the first time intakes of micronutrients were assessed by body weight status using a large database, inclusive of more than 18,000 Americans, providing a nationally representative population-based sample of adults," commented James Brooks, VP science, technology and quality for Pharmavite and study author. "The study showed that dietary supplement users had higher overall intakes and a lower prevalence of inadequacy of micronutrients compared to non-supplement users," he said. "This suggests the possibility that dietary supplements may help with filling the gap in nutrient inadequacies."

 

The Pharmavite supported study compared usual intake for essential nutrients by body weight status in adult Americans using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2001-2008.