title: Effects of a dietary intervention promoting the adoption of a Mediterranean food pattern on fast-food consumption among healthy French-Canadian women.
abstract: It is expected that a dietary intervention based on the traditional Mediterranean food pattern should be associated with a reduction in fast-food consumption but this has never been tested before. We assessed the impact of a 12-week dietary intervention, promoting the adoption of a Mediterranean food pattern, on fast-food consumption among seventy-one healthy women aged between 30 and 65 years. The dietary intervention consisted of two group sessions and seven individual sessions with a dietitian. To determine the Mediterranean dietary score (MedScore) and fast-food consumption, an FFQ was administered. During the 12-week intervention, the MedScore significantly increased (from 21.1 (SD 3.6) units at baseline to 28.6 (SD 4.4) units at week 12, P < 0.0001), while the fast-food consumption significantly decreased (from 51.7 (SD 46.4) g/d at baseline to 20.5 (SD 18.2) g/d at week 12, P < 0.0001). Moreover, women who had a higher consumption of fast food at baseline decreased their fast-food consumption to the most (r - 0.50, P < 0.0001). When four subgroups were formed on the basis of median values of Medscore and fast-food consumption changes, it was found that only the subgroup of women which increased the most their MedScore and decreased the most their fast-food consumption experienced a significant decrease in BMI (P < 0.01). In conclusion, a dietary intervention promoting the Mediterranean food pattern led to a decrease in fast-food consumption among healthy women even if it was not a specific target of the intervention. Dietary strategies for increasing intake of healthy foods may be a useful approach for decreasing intake of less healthy foods.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Laval University, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bédard
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goulet
authors.forename: Mélissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riverin
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lamarche
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lemieux
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002170:Canada; D004034:Diet Surveys; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004046:Dietetics; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015431:Weight Loss