Abstract
Background/Objectives:Pasta as a traditional component of Mediterranean diet (MeD) in Italy has not been studied in detail in the management of body weight. This study aimed at evaluating the association of pasta intake with body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio, in two large epidemiological datasets.Subjects/Methods:A total of 14 402 participants aged ⩾35 years randomly recruited from the general population of the Molise region (Moli-sani cohort) and 8964 participants aged >18 years from all over Italy (Italian Nutrition & HEalth Survey, INHES) were separately analyzed. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-food frequency questionnaire and one 24-h dietary recall were used for dietary assessment. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference were measured in Moli-sani or self-reported in INHES. Residuals methodology corrected for either total energy intake or body weight was used for the analysis of pasta intake.Results:Higher pasta intake was associated with better adhesion to MeD in both genders (P for both<0.001). In the Moli-sani study, after multivariable analysis, pasta-energy residuals were negatively associated with BMI in women but not in men (β-coef=−0.007, P=0.003 for women and β-coef=−0.001, P=0.58 for men). When pasta intake-body weight residuals were used, pasta intake was significantly and negatively associated with BMI in crude and multi-adjusted models (including adhesion to MeD) in both genders and Moli-sani and INHES studies (for all β-coef<0, P<0.05). In the Moli-sani study, pasta-body weight residuals were significantly and negatively associated with waist and hip circumference and waist-to-hip ratio (for all β-coef<0, P<0.05).Conclusions:As a traditional component of MeD, pasta consumption was negatively associated with BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio and with a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity.
Highlights
IntroductionMajor components of the Mediterranean diet (MeD) are foods with high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber such as legumes, rice and cereals.[1] The latter represent the main source of carbohydrates in the diet and in Italy, they are consumed mainly in the form of pasta.[9]
The traditional Mediterranean diet (MeD), a healthy eating behavior model, might be the basis for establishing nutrition guidelines as an outcome of health policies.[1,2] Its health benefits in primary and secondary prevention of chronic diseases has long been studied since middle 50s3–5 and confirmed by metaanalysis.[6,7,8]Major components of the MeD are foods with high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber such as legumes, rice and cereals.[1]
This work aimed at evaluating the association of pasta intake with body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and prevalence of overweight and obesity in the context of MeD adherence
Summary
Major components of the MeD are foods with high content of complex carbohydrates and fiber such as legumes, rice and cereals.[1] The latter represent the main source of carbohydrates in the diet and in Italy, they are consumed mainly in the form of pasta.[9]. In the last decades in Italy, despite the strong effort to promote MeD, a progressive change occurred in eating habits.[10,11] Pasta consumption has been decreased,[9,10,11,12,13,14] as a concept of low carbohydrate and high protein diet against obesity emerged
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