The Relationship Between Dietary Diversity with General and Abdominal Obesity in Female Amateur Athletes of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Background: The prevalence of obesity in the world shows the impact of environmental factors such as sex, marital status, andchanges in eating patterns as well as the replacement of high-fat diets rather than healthy diets.Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dietary diversity score, general obesity, and abdominalobesity among female athlete students of Mazandaran University of Medical Science.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, ۱۴۳ healthy amateur athletes aged ۱۸ to ۲۸ years old were randomly selected as female students.The usual food intake was evaluated using a ۲۴-hour recall questionnaire for three consecutive days. Dietary scores werecalculated based on scores of five food groups. Weight, height, waist circumference, and hip circumference were measured basedon standard methods. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Pearson correlation coefficient andlinear regression were used.Results: There was an inverse and significant relationship between the dietary diversity score and general and abdominal obesityin amateur female students (P ۰.۰۵).Conclusions: There is an inverse and significant relationship between the adherence to a high-diversity diet and obesity patterns.Finding dietary patterns associated with obesity can helpobesity preventionandprovide a healthy diet for controlling this epidemicin the community.