Abstract
Objective:
To evaluate the impact of a nutritional intervention promoting a Mediterranean food pattern on anthropometric profile in healthy women.
Design:
Nutritional intervention study.
Setting:
Laval University, Canada.
Subjects:
Seventy-seven healthy women started the study and four did not complete the study.
Methods:
A 12-week nutritional intervention in free-living conditions consisted of two group courses on nutrition and seven individual sessions with a dietitian. A follow-up visit was performed 12 weeks after the end of the intervention (week 24). A Mediterranean dietary score (MedScore), based on the 11 components of the Mediterranean pyramid, was established to evaluate the adherence to the Mediterranean food pattern.
Results:
Small but significant decreases in body weight and waist circumference were observed after 12 weeks of intervention (0.5 kg and 1.2 cm, respectively (P<0.01)). Increase in partial MedScore for legumes, nuts and seeds (increase in consumption) as well as increase in partial MedScore for sweets (decrease in consumption) were significantly associated with changes in waist circumference (r=−0.36, P=0.001; r=0.24, P=0.05, respectively). No association was observed between changes in anthropometric profile and changes in the consumption of olive oil.
Conclusion:
Changes in dietary food pattern, more specifically an increase in the consumption of legumes, nuts and seeds, and a decrease in the consumption of sweets, were associated with some beneficial changes in anthropometric profile.
Sponsorship:
This study was partly supported by the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health from the Canada Research Chair Program.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Airlie (1988). Standardization of anthropometric measurements. In: Lohman T, Roche A, Martorel R, (eds). The Airlie (VA) Concensus Conference. Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL, pp 39–80.
Archer WR, Lamarche B, Deriaz O, Landry N, Corneau L, Despres JP et al. (2003). Variations in body composition and plasma lipids in response to a high-carbohydrate diet. Obes Res 11, 978–986.
Bell EA, Castellanos VH, Pelkman CL, Thorwart ML, Rolls BJ (1998). Energy density of foods affects energy intake in normal-weight women. Am J Clin Nutr 67, 412–420.
Bonifacj C, Gerber M, Scali J, Daures JP (1997). Comparison of dietary assessment methods in a southern French population: use of weighed records, estimated-diet records and a food-frequency questionnaire. Eur J Clin Nutr 51, 217–231.
Castagnetta L, Granata OM, Cusimano R, Ravazzolo B, Liquori M, Polito L et al. (2002). The Mediet Project. Ann N Y Acad Sci 963, 282–289.
Esposito K, Marfella R, Ciotola M, Di Palo C, Giugliano F, Giugliano G et al. (2004). Effect of a mediterranean-style diet on endothelial dysfunction and markers of vascular inflammation in the metabolic syndrome: a randomized trial. JAMA 292, 1440–1446.
Ferro-Luzzi A, Sette S (1989). The Mediterranean diet: an attempt to define its present and past composition. Eur J Clin Nutr 43 (Suppl 2), 13–29.
Ferro-Luzzi A, Branca F (1995). Mediterranean diet, Italian-style: prototype of a healthy diet. Am J Clin Nutr 61, 1338S–1345S.
Fraser GE, Bennett HW, Jaceldo KB, Sabate J (2002). Effect on body weight of a free 76 kilojoule (320 calorie) daily supplement of almonds for six months. J Am Coll Nutr 21, 275–283.
Goulet J, Nadeau G, Lapointe A, Lamarche B, Lemieux S (2004). Validity and reproducibility of an interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire for healthy French-Canadian men and women. Nutr J 3, 13.
Goulet J, Lamarche B, Nadeau G, Lemieux S (2003). Effect of a nutritional intervention promoting the Mediterranean food pattern on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and body weight in healthy French-Canadian women. Atherosclerosis 170, 115–124.
Jiang R, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Liu S, Willett WC, Hu FB (2002). Nut and peanut butter consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. JAMA 288, 2554–2560.
Kendall A, Levitsky DA, Strupp BJ, Lissner L (1991). Weight loss on a low-fat diet: consequence of the imprecision of the control of food intake in humans. Am J Clin Nutr 53, 1124–1129.
Keys A (1970). Coronary heart disease in seven countries. Circulation 41, I1–I211.
Kissebah AH (1996). Intra-abdominal fat: is it a major factor in developing diabetes and coronary artery disease? Diabetes Res Clin Pract 30 (Suppl), 25–30.
Levine AS, Silvis SE (1980). Absorption of whole peanuts, peanut oil, and peanut butter. N Engl J Med 303, 917–918.
Mahabir S, Baer DJ, Giffen C, Subar A, Campbell W, Hartman TJ et al. (2006). Calorie intake misreporting by diet record and food frequency questionnaire compared to doubly labeled water among postmenopausal women. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 561–565.
McManus K, Antinoro L, Sacks F (2001). A randomized controlled trial of a moderate-fat, low-energy diet compared with a low fat, low-energy diet for weight loss in overweight adults. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 25, 1503–1511.
Obesity (1997). Preventing managing the global epidemic. Report on a WHO consultation on obesity. World Health Organization: Geneva.
Rolls BJ, Roe LS, Meengs JS (2004). Salad and satiety: energy density and portion size of a first-course salad affect energy intake at lunch. J Am Diet Assoc 104, 1570–1576.
Sacks FM, Katan M (2002). Randomized clinical trials on the effects of dietary fat and carbohydrate on plasma lipoproteins and cardiovascular disease. Am J Med 113 (Suppl 9B), 13S–24S.
Schakel SF, Sievert YA, Buzzard IM (1988). Sources of data for developing and maintaining a nutrient database. J Am Diet Assoc 88, 1268–1271.
Schroder H, Marrugat J, Vila J, Covas MI, Elosua R (2004). adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is inversely associated with body mass index and obesity in a Spanish population. J Nutr 134, 3355–3361.
Schulz M, Kroke A, Liese AD, Hoffmann K, Bergmann MM, Boeing H (2002). Food groups as predictors for short-term weight changes in men and women of the EPIC-Potsdam cohort. J Nutr 132, 1335–1340.
Seale J, Miles C, Bodwell CE (1989). Sensitivity of methods for calculating energy expenditure by use of doubly labeled water. J Appl Physiol 66, 644–652.
Seale J, Rumpler W (1997). Comparison of energy expenditure measurements by diet records, energy intake balance, doubly labeled water and room calorimetry. Eur J Clin Nutr 51, 856–863. (abs.).
Toobert DJ, Glasgow RE, Strycker LA, Barrera Jr M, Radcliffe JL, Wander RC et al. (2003). Biologic and quality-of-life outcomes from the Mediterranean lifestyle program: a randomized clinical trial. Diabetes Care 26, 2288–2293.
Tremblay A, Lavallee N, Almeras N, Allard L, Després JP, Bouchard C (1991). Nutritional determinants of the increase in energy intake associated with a high-fat diet. Am J Clin Nutr 53, 1134–1137.
Trichopoulou A, Lagiou P (1997). Healthy traditionnal Mediterranean diet: an expression of culture, history, and lifestyle. Nutr Rev 55, 383–389.
Willett WC, Sacks F, Trichopoulou A, Drescher G, Ferro-Luzzi A, Helsing E et al. (1995). Mediterranean diet pyramid: a cultural model for healthy eating. Am J Clin Nutr 61, 1402S–1406S.
Willett WC (1998). Is dietary fat a major determinant of body fat? Am J Clin Nutr 67, 556S–562S.
Acknowledgements
JG is a recipient of a studentship from the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec, AL is a recipient of a studentship from the Canadian Institute of Health Research and the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec and BL is the recipient of a Canada Research Chair in Nutrition, Functional Foods and Cardiovascular Health from the Canada Research Chair Program. This study was partly supported by the Canada Research Chair in Nutrition, Functional Foods and Cardiovascular Health from the Canada Research Chair Program. We express our gratitude to the subjects and their family for their motivation and implication throughout the study. We acknowledge the contribution of Nancy Gilbert RD, MSc, Geneviève Nadeau, RD, MSc and Amélie Charest RD, MSc to the nutritional intervention and we thank Danielle Aubin for nursing assistance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goulet, J., Lapointe, A., Lamarche, B. et al. Effect of a nutritional intervention promoting the Mediterranean food pattern on anthropometric profile in healthy women from the Québec city metropolitan area. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 1293–1300 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602647
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602647
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Erratum to: Le régime méditerranéen : aliments vedettes ou style alimentaire ? Introduction
Phytothérapie (2015)
-
Gender differences in the long-term effects of a nutritional intervention program promoting the Mediterranean diet: changes in dietary intakes, eating behaviors, anthropometric and metabolic variables
Nutrition Journal (2014)
-
Effect of the Mediterranean Diet With and Without Weight Loss on Markers of Inflammation in Men With Metabolic Syndrome
Obesity (2012)