Association between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eatwell Guide and changes in weight and waist circumference in post-menopausal women in the UK Women's Cohort Study.

Abstract

This study investigated the associations between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eatwell Guide (EWG) and changes in weight and waist circumference in post-menopausal women. Post-hoc analysis of post-menopausal women from the UK Women's Cohort Study. Changes in weight, waist circumference and the risk of abdominal and general obesity. 4162 post-menopausal women were selected. Higher adherence to both the EWG and the Mediterranean Diet was associated with smaller increases in waist circumference over 4years (EWG: β -0.47, CI -0.75, -0.20 per 1 tertile increase in score), (Mediterranean Diet: β -0.29, CI -0.58, -0.01 per 1 tertile increase in score); and lower risk of abdominal obesity (EWG: OR 0.55, CI 0.43, 0.70 third versus the first tertile), (Mediterranean Diet: OR 0.60, CI 0.46, 0.76 third versus the first tertile), but was not associated with weight changes (EWG: β 0.14, CI -0.07, 0.36 per 1 tertile increase in score), (Mediterranean Diet: β 0.03, CI -0.19, 0.25 per 1 tertile increase in score) or risk of becoming overweight or obese (EWG: OR 1.09, CI 0.77, 1.52 third versus the first tertile), (Mediterranean Diet: OR 0.91, CI 0.65, 1.27 third versus the first tertile). The results suggest that adherence to either the Mediterranean Diet or the EWG can help to prevent abdominal obesity in post-menopausal women.