Diet Quality, Saturated Fat and Metabolic Syndrome.

Stéphanie Harrison,Benoît Lamarche,Patrick Couture

doi:10.3390/nu12113232

Abstract

Indices reflecting overall diet quality are used globally in research to predict the risk of various diseases and metabolic disorders such as metabolic syndrome (MetS). Such indices are built to measure adherence to current dietary guidelines or to best assess the diet–disease relationship. Although mostly food-based, dietary guidelines often include recommendations to limit saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases. However, not all diet quality indices consider SFA in their definition of diet quality. Additionally, the relationship between SFA consumption and the development of MetS remains unclear. The purpose of this short review was to explore the association between MetS and various diet quality indices and dietary patterns, with a focus on how SFA contributes to these associations.

Highlights

Various scores and indices are available to assess overall diet quality in population-based or interventional studies
Dietary patterns and diet quality indices have been associated with the risk of various diseases, including the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a collection of metabolic disorders that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), stroke or type 2 diabetes [1]
Structural equation modeling analyses of data from a sample of 188 healthy obese adults revealed that the Healthy Eating Indices (HEI)-2015 mediated the association between age and several cardio-metabolic risk factors associated with MetS, including fat mass, fat free mass, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)

Summary

Introduction

Various scores and indices are available to assess overall diet quality in population-based or interventional studies. The meta-analysis that showed a significant impact of SFA reduction on combined CVD events and showed no significant effect of SFAs on the risk of fatal myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality [5] The authors of this meta-analysis emphasized the lack of robust, high-quality data to reach definitive conclusions on many of these associations. While data from a recent systematic review suggest that increased intake of SFA is associated with an increased risk of MetS, this association appeared to be dependent on the concurrent variations of other nutrients [9] The purpose of this short review was to explore the association between MetS and various diet quality indices and dietary patterns, with a focus on how SFA may contribute to these associations

The HEI and MetS

13. Alcohol

The aHEI and MetS

The Mediterranean Diet and MetS

Findings

Conclusions