Dietary fiber and metabolic syndrome in NHANES: mediation through inflammation and modifications by population characteristics

In a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, higher dietary fiber density is associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome. This association is partly explained by lower levels of systemic inflammation rather than by improvements in insulin resistance, and it is uniformly present across body weight statuses. These findings support the potential universal relevance of increasing fiber intake for MetS prevention and highlight anti-inflammatory pathways as a key area for mechanistic focus.