The relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and body composition in Croatian university students

Abstract

IntroductionLittle is known of how adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) is related to body composition, especially in university students. The main purposes of this study were (i) to assess differences in body composition by gender and level of adherence to the MD and (ii) to assess the relationship between body composition and level of adherence to the MD. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, participants were 198 university students (56.6% women). To assess adherence to the MD, we used the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index Questionnaire (KIDMED). Body composition was assessed by using bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Height (H), weight (W), blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed according to standardized procedures and physical activity (PA) was assessed by using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). ResultsThe rate of normal BMI in men and women was 61.6% and 87.5%. There were no significant differences in adherence to the MD by gender (p=0.068). One-way ANOVA between levels of adherence to the MD showed that participants with the lowest level of adherence had the highest body-mass index (BMI) (p<0.001), fat-mass percentage (% FM) (p<0.001), visceral fat (VF) (p<0.001), HR (p<0.001) and the lowest levels of PA (p<0.001).Higher adherence to the MD was related to decreased levels of BMI (p<0.001), % FM (p<0.001) and VF (p<0.001), increased levels of fat-free mass (FFM) (p<0.001) and hours of PA (p<0.001) for both men and women. ConclusionsHigher adherence to the MD shows beneficial effects in body composition parameters in university students.