Dietary Inflammatory Index of Northern Mexican Indigenous Adults and Its Association with Obesity: Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Given the high prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity in Indigenous adults from Sonora (IAS) and its strong association with diet, this study evaluates the association of dietary inflammatory index (DII) with obesity and abdominal obesity and its indicators, such as body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), respectively. Methods: This cross-sectional study included data from 559 adults across two Indigenous populations (Seris and Yaquis) collected in two separate studies. Obesity and abdominal obesity were classified according to the definitions established by the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation. The DII was calculated with data from population-specific food frequency questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between the DII variable (expressed as both numeric and categorical) and BMI and WC, separately; multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between obesity and abdominal obesity. Results: The prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity was 34.1% and 78.2%, respectively. There was a positive association between the DII and BMI (DII as numeric: β = 0.53, p = 0.001; tertile3 of DII vs. tertile1: β = 1.86, p = 0.001) and WC (DII as numeric: β = 1.15, p = 0.002; tertile3 of DII vs. tertile1: β = 3.81, p = 0.005). Similar results were found for both types of obesity. Conclusions: Higher DII scores were associated with increased obesity indicators (BMI and WC) and a higher risk of obesity and abdominal obesity in IAS. Promoting anti-inflammatory diets represents a feasible approach for preventing non-communicable diseases.