Mediterranean dietary patterns and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA project.
BACKGROUND
There is an association between a greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet and a reduced risk of developing chronic diseases. However, it is not clear whether this dietary pattern may be protective also against the development of obesity.


OBJECTIVE
We assessed the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern (MDP), prospective weight change, and the incidence of overweight or obesity.


METHODS
We conducted a prospective cohort study [the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Physical Activity, Nutrition, Alcohol Consumption, Cessation of Smoking, Eating Out of Home, and Obesity (EPIC-PANACEA) project] in 373,803 individuals (103,455 men and 270,348 women; age range: 25-70 y) from 10 European countries. Anthropometric measurements were obtained at recruitment and after a median follow-up time of 5 y. The relative Mediterranean Diet Score (rMED; score range: 0-18) was used to assess adherence to the MDP according to the consumption of 9 dietary components that are characteristic of the Mediterranean diet. The association between the rMED and 5-y weight change was modeled through multiadjusted mixed-effects linear regression.


RESULTS
Individuals with a high adherence to the MDP according to the rMED (11-18 points) showed a 5-y weight change of -0.16 kg (95% CI: -0.24, -0.07 kg) and were 10% (95% CI: 4%, 18%) less likely to develop overweight or obesity than were individuals with a low adherence to the MDP (0-6 points). The low meat content of the Mediterranean diet seemed to account for most of its positive effect against weight gain.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that promoting the MDP as a model of healthy eating may help to prevent weight gain and the development of obesity.
Romaguera
Dora
D
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom. d.romaguera-bosch@imperial.ac.uk
Norat
Teresa
T
Vergnaud
Anne-Claire
AC
Mouw
Traci
T
May
Anne M
AM
Agudo
Antonio
A
Buckland
Genevieve
G
Slimani
Nadia
N
Rinaldi
Sabina
S
Couto
Elisabeth
E
Clavel-Chapelon
Françoise
F
Boutron-Ruault
Marie-Christine
MC
Cottet
Vanessa
V
Rohrmann
Sabine
S
Teucher
Birgit
B
Bergmann
Manuela
M
Boeing
Heiner
H
Tjønneland
Anne
A
Halkjaer
Jytte
J
Jakobsen
Marianne Uhre
MU
Dahm
Christina C
CC
Travier
Noemie
N
Rodriguez
Laudina
L
Sanchez
Maria José
MJ
Amiano
Pilar
P
Barricarte
Aurelio
A
Huerta
José María
JM
Luan
Jian'an
J
Wareham
Nick
N
Key
Timothy J
TJ
Spencer
Elisabeth A
EA
Orfanos
Philippos
P
Naska
Androniki
A
Trichopoulou
Antonia
A
Palli
Domenico
D
Agnoli
Claudia
C
Mattiello
Amalia
A
Tumino
Rosario
R
Vineis
Paolo
P
Bueno-de-Mesquita
H Bas
HB
Büchner
Frederike L
FL
Manjer
Jonas
J
Wirfält
Elisabet
E
Johansson
Ingegerd
I
Hellstrom
Veronica
V
Lund
Eiliv
E
Braaten
Toni
T
Engeset
Dagrun
D
Odysseos
Andreani
A
Riboli
Elio
E
Peeters
Petra Hm
PH
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors