The relationship between weight and response to cholesterol-lowering diets in women

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether factors related to body weight might influence the cholesterol lowering response to diet. DESIGN: Run-in diet followed by crossover to low fat diets; average response is reported. SUBJECTS: Sixty-three subjects (30 men and 33 women) with moderately elevated plasma cholesterol levels. MEASUREMENTS: Lipid and anthropometric measurements. Data were analyzed as a repeated measures analysis of variance with lipid lowering response in all combined cholesterol lowering diets compared to baseline. RESULTS: LDL cholesterol lowering was significantly affected by BMI in women (P=0.01) but not in men (P=0.54). There was also a weak effect of waist-hip (W/H) ratio on response (P=0.127) in women, with the lower responders having a higher W/H ratio but there was no effect of W/H ratio in men (P=0.86). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that overweight women with elevated plasma cholesterol may be less responsive to reducing their cholesterol levels with diet.