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Incidence of obesity is lower in persons who consume olive oil

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 63, pages 1371–1374 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

We undertook a population-based cohort study in Pizarra (Spain). Anthropometric and nutritional variables were recorded for 613 persons. The type of fat used was determined by measurement of the fatty acids contained in cooking oil. Serum fatty acid was used as a biological marker of the type of fat consumed. Obesity incidence in persons who were not obese at baseline was greater in those who consumed sunflower oil (Group 1: 41.5 (95% CI, 25.4–67.8) cases per 1000 person-years) than in those who consumed olive oil or a mixture of oils (Group 2: 17.3 (95% CI, 11.6–25.8) cases per 1000 person-years). The risk of developing obesity over 6 years, adjusted for age, sex, physical activity, smoking, instruction level, energy intake and baseline BMI, was 2.3 (95% CI, 1.06–5.02) in group 1 compared with that in group 2. The increase in the prevalence of obesity in the free-living population is associated with the type of fatty acids in the diet.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Isabel Cardona for her inestimable technical help and to Ian Johnstone for his help with the English language version of the paper. This study was undertaken with finance from the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI041883, PI051307), Junta de Andalucía (0124/2005, P06-CTS-01684) and the Fundación Centro de Excelencia en investigación sobre Aceite de oliva y Salud (CEAS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital Universitario Carlos Haya, Malaga, Spain

    F Soriguer, M C Almaraz, M S Ruiz-de-Adana, I Esteva, F Linares, S Morcillo, E García-Escobar, G Olveira-Fuster & G Rojo-Martínez

  2. CIBER of Diabetes and Metabolism (CB07/08) Carlos III Health Institute, Málaga, Spain

    F Soriguer, M C Almaraz, M S Ruiz-de-Adana, I Esteva, F Linares, S Morcillo, E García-Escobar, G Olveira-Fuster & G Rojo-Martínez

  3. CIBER of Physiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CB06/03) Carlos III Health Institute, Málaga, Spain

    F Soriguer, M C Almaraz, M S Ruiz-de-Adana, I Esteva, F Linares, J M García-Almeida, S Morcillo, E García-Escobar, G Olveira-Fuster & G Rojo-Martínez

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  1. F Soriguer
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  2. M C Almaraz
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  3. M S Ruiz-de-Adana
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  4. I Esteva
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  5. F Linares
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  6. J M García-Almeida
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  7. S Morcillo
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  8. E García-Escobar
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  9. G Olveira-Fuster
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  10. G Rojo-Martínez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Rojo-Martínez.

Additional information

Contributors: FS, IE and GR-M contributed to the study design, GR-M, MCA, JMGA, MSRdA, FL, EG-E, SM and GO-F contributed in the data collection, FS and GR-M contributed in the data analysis, all authors contributed in writing the paper.

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Soriguer, F., Almaraz, M., Ruiz-de-Adana, M. et al. Incidence of obesity is lower in persons who consume olive oil. Eur J Clin Nutr 63, 1371–1374 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.65

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2009.65

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