Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is no prospective epidemiologic evidence to support whether tea consumption has protective effect on the relationship between meat intake and obesity. METHODS: This study utilized data from the UK Biobank, including 206,142 participants for primary analysis. Dietary tea and meat intake was calculated based on food consumption from 24-hour dietary recall, and subsequently categorized into three groups (low, medium, and high) using tertiles. Time-dependent Cox models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the separate and joint associations of dietary tea and meat intake with risk of incident obesity. To assess the potential modified effect of tea in the association of meat intake with the risk of incident obesity, we examined the both multiplicative and additive interactions. Stratified analysis was performed by levels of tea intake. Subgroup analyses were performed by sex, polygenic risk score (PRS), the Townsend Deprivation Index (TDI), age and cholesterol. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 11.51 years, 11,627 incident obesity cases were identified. A near-linear dose-response relationship was observed between higher consumption of total, processed, and white meat-though not red meat-and increased obesity risk, independent of tea intake. For instance, even when accompanied by high tea consumption, high intake of each meat type remained significantly associated with elevated obesity risk (total meat: HR = 1.425, 95% CI: 1.286 to 1.579; red meat: HR = 1.217, 95% CI: 1.086 to 1.365; processed meat: HR = 1.521, 95% CI: 1.326 to 1.745; white meat: HR = 1.508, 95% CI: 1.314 to 1.732). No significant statistical or additive interactions were detected between tea and meat consumption. Consistent with this, among high meat consumers, even the highest level of tea intake did not attenuate the risk (total meat: HR = 1.483, 95% CI: 1.347 to 1.632; red meat: HR = 1.210, 95% CI: 1.086 to 1.348; processed meat: HR = 1.403, 95% CI: 1.243 to 1.584; white meat: HR = 1.536, 95% CI: 1.350 to 1.747). Subgroup analyses yielded generally consistent results but suggested potential sex-specific differences. CONCLUSIONS: There is no interactive effect between meat and tea consumption, implying that tea intake could not serve as a remedy for high meat consumption. Independent of the amount of tea consumed, there is still an elevated risk when consuming high level of meat.