ArticlePloS one2016
Higher Dietary Choline and Betaine Intakes Are Associated with Better Body Composition in the Adult Population of Newfoundland, Canada.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Choline: An Essential Nutrient for Skeletal Muscle.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of Betaine on Reducing Body Fat-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Nutrients · 2019Pooled it
- Changes in Choline Metabolites and Ceramides in Response to a DASH-Style Diet in Older Adults.Nutrients · 2023Trial
- Adipose tissue metabolic dysregulation in diet-induced obesity: insights from UHPLC-HRMS-based metabolomics.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Food sources of choline and their contribution to choline adequacy in U.S. older adults.Journal of food composition and analysis : an official publication of the United Nations University, International Network of Food Data Systems · 2025Article
- Review
- Consumption of methyl donor nutrients and incidence of obesity: is the association influenced by parent's obesity? Results of 4 years of follow-up of the CUME study.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2025Article
- Association Between Dietary Betaine Intake and Dyslipidemia in Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Exploring the link between serum betaine levels and hyperuricemia risk in middle-aged and older adults: insights from a prospective cohort study.European journal of nutrition · 2025Observational
- Associations of serum choline, betaine and trimethylamine N-oxide with gestational diabetes mellitus among Chinese pregnant women.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2025Article
- Exercise-mimicking effects of betaine in chronic disease prevention and management.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
- Association between dietary betaine intake and overweight or obesity.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Habitual dietary methyl donor's intake and metabolic profile in obese individuals: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Choline consumption reduces CVD risk via body composition modification.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Dietary choline intake in European and non-european populations: current status and future trends-a narrative review.Nutrition journal · 2024Review
- Dietary amino acid patterns and cardiometabolic risk factors among subjects with obesity; a cross-sectional study.BMC endocrine disorders · 2024Article
- The interactive relationship of dietary choline and betaine with physical activity on circulating creatine kinase (CK), metabolic and glycemic markers, and anthropometric characteristics in physically active young individuals.BMC endocrine disorders · 2023Article
- Dietary choline and betaine intake, cardio-metabolic risk factors and prevalence of metabolic syndrome among overweight and obese adults.BMC endocrine disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCholine is an essential nutrient and betaine is an osmolyte and methyl donor. Both are important to maintain health including adequate lipid metabolism. Supplementation of dietary choline and betaine increase muscle mass and reduce body fat in animals. However, little data is available regarding the role of dietary choline and betaine on body composition in humans.
objectiveTo investigate the association between dietary choline and betaine intakes with body composition in a large population based cross-sectional study.
designA total of 3214 subjects from the CODING (Complex Disease in Newfoundland population: Environment and Genetics) study were assessed. Dietary choline and betaine intakes were computed from the Willett Food Frequency questionnaire. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry following a 12-hour fast. Major confounding factors including age, sex, total calorie intake and physical activity level were controlled in all analyses.
resultSignificantly inverse correlations were found between dietary choline and betaine intakes, with all obesity measurements: total percent body fat (%BF), percent trunk fat (%TF), percent android fat (%AF), percent gynoid fat (%GF) and anthropometrics: weight, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio in both women and men (r range from -0.13 to -0.47 for choline and -0.09 to -0.26 for betaine, p<0.001 for all). Dietary choline intake had stronger association than betaine. Moreover, obese subjects had the lowest dietary choline and betaine intakes, with overweight subjects in the middle, and normal weight subjects consumed the highest dietary choline and betaine (p<0.001). Vice versa, when subjects were ranked according to dietary choline and betaine intakes, subjects with the highest intake of both had the lowest %TF, %AF, %GF, %BF and highest %LM among the groups in both sexes.
conclusionOur findings indicate that high dietary choline and betaine intakes are significantly associated with favorable body composition in humans.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.