P767 - SULFUR AMINO ACID CONSUMPTION AND PHYSICAL GROWTH IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF NHANES III

P767

SULFUR AMINO ACID CONSUMPTION AND PHYSICAL GROWTH IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF NHANES III

F. Pinheiro^1,*, J. Lima², E. Keating¹, D. Wanders³, J. S. Neves^4,5, R. Negrão¹, C. C. Dias^6,7

¹Department of Biomedicine, RISE-Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, ²Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, ³Department of Nutrition, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United States, ⁴Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University Hospital Center of São João, ⁵Department of Surgery and Physiology, RISE-Health, ⁶Central Management Resources: Knowledge Management Unit, ⁷Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), RISE-Health, Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Rationale: Dietary restriction of sulfur amino acids (SAAs) prevents obesity but impairs linear growth in young animals. It is unclear whether diets low in SAAs elicit similar effects in humans. This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary SAA intake and the risks of obesity, abdominal obesity, and stunting in children and adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from 4,005 children and adolescents aged 8-16 years old who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were analyzed. Protein-adjusted SAA intake was calculated using the residual method. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, pubertal development, parental height, lifestyle factors, and total intake of calories, protein, and other amino acid groups. All analyses accounted for NHANES III sampling design.

Results: Each 1 g increase in protein-adjusted SAA intake was associated with a fourfold higher risk of obesity (OR = 4.42, CI: 2.12–9.22) and a threefold higher risk of abdominal obesity (OR = 2.96, CI: 1.38–6.34). In contrast, higher SAA intake was associated with a decreased stunting risk, but only among males (OR = 0.16, CI: 0.04–0.67). These associations were not observed for other amino acid groups, except for branched-chain amino acids, for which higher intake was associated with a reduced stunting risk. Results were robust across sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion: Higher SAA intake is associated with greater obesity risk in children and adolescents, while also being linked to a decreased risk of stunting among males. These findings suggest that diets with a lower SAA content, such as vegetarian diets, may be beneficial for addressing childhood obesity. However, its potential biological trade-off regarding linear growth warrants further investigation.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared