Skin carotenoid scores are a valid approximation of fruit and vegetable intake among adults with obesity

Skin carotenoid score (SCS) as measured using pressure-mediated reflection spectroscopy has been validated among adults with normal and overweight body mass index, with little validation research among adults with obesity. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the validity of SCS as an approximation of fruit and vegetable intake among adults with obesity. We used samples from adults with obesity from three prior studies: The first study examined the validity of SCS among 213 adults, 34 with obesity; the second, examined sensitivity of SCS to a β-carotene-rich juice intervention among 162 adults, 14 with obesity; the third examined changes in inflammatory markers in a 3-week lycopene-rich juice intervention, among 25 participants with obesity. Correlations between SCS and plasma carotenoids, and between SCS and self-reported FV and carotenoid intake were calculated using SAS 9.4. There was a positive association between SCS and plasma carotenoids (r = 0.30, P = .009), and between SCS and self-reported FV (r = 0.33, P = .004) and total carotenoid (r = 0.44, P < .001) intake in adults with obesity. In this small, secondary data analysis, the association between SCS and self-reported total FV intake among adults with obesity was similar to that among normal- and overweight adults in prior studies. The correlation between SCS and total plasma carotenoid concentrations among adults with obesity was weaker than that among normal- and overweight adults in prior studies. More work is needed to understand the associations between SCS and plasma carotenoid concentrations among adults with obesity.