Dietary patterns are associated with sexual maturation in Korean children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns and sexual maturation among Korean children. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 422 boys and 365 girls aged 9-12 years living in Seoul, Korea. Three-day food records were obtained, and pubertal stages were determined with a questionnaire using Tanner stages. Body fat was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and bone mass content at the right calcaneus was measured by portable dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry. Exploratory factor analysis with a Varimax rotation was applied to identify dietary patterns using twenty-four food groups. Four distinct dietary patterns - 'rice and Kimchi', 'shellfish and processed meat', 'pizza and drinks' and 'milk and cereal' - were obtained. Twenty-six per cent (24 % stage 2, 2 % stage 3) of boys had genital development, and 79 % (63 % stage 2, 16 % stage 3) of girls showed breast development. In boys, genital development was weakly positively associated with 'shellfish and processed meat' dietary factor scores (odds ratio 1.65, CI 0.95, 2.89, P for trend 0.07) after adjusting for confounders. In girls, breast development was significantly positively associated with the factor score of 'shellfish and processed meat' (odds ratio 1.88, CI 1.08, 3.26, P for trend 0.05). These results suggest that dietary patterns were related to body composition and sexual maturation among the Korean children. Further investigations are needed to identify components of the foods consumed in high amounts in these patterns and how they are related to sexual maturation.