Weight loss and metabolic health effects from energy-restricted Mediterranean and Central-European diets in postmenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of two energy-restricted diets on body weight (BW), visceral fat (VF) loss, and the risk factors for metabolic syndrome. A total of 144 centrally obese postmenopausal women were assigned to the moderate in fat Mediterranean diet (MED) or to the Central European diet (CED), which is moderate in carbohydrates and high in dietary fiber (DF), for 16 weeks. BW, waist circumference and VF were significantly reduced by 8.8%, 7.0%, and 24.6%, respectively, over the trial (P < 0.001), with no difference between groups. A similar trend was seen for total cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and blood pressure. Within each diet group, the more adherent participants lost significantly more BW than did their less adherent counterparts. VF was significantly reduced only in women who were more adherent to the CED, and the reduction in VF correlated with an increase in the proportion of DF. Short-term dietary treatment with the CED or the MED was associated with similar improvements in some anthropometric, lipid, and nonlipid parameters; however, adequate adherence to the prescribed diet is important in weight loss success and in achieving improvements in metabolic health.

Figure 1

Flow diagram of subjects’ participation in the trial.

Figure 2

Mean percent body weight changes over 16 weeks of dietary intervention in the more adherent (filled square) and less adherent (open square) postmenopausal women from the CED (left side) and the MED (right side) groups, respectively. Data are presented as means (CI 95%), **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 for differences between level of adherence at respective time points.