title: Randomized controlled trial on the effects of legumes on cardiovascular risk factors in women with abdominal obesity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effect of legume-based hypocaloric diet on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in women is unclear. This study provides an opportunity to find effects of high-legume diet on CVD risk factors in women who consumed high legumes at baseline.
  
  
  METHODS
  This randomized controlled trial was undertaken in 34 premenopausal women with central obesity. After 2 weeks of a run-in period on an isocaloric diet, subjects were randomly assigned into two groups: (1) hypocaloric diet enriched with legumes (HDEL) (n = 17) (two servings per day) and (2) hypocaloric diet without legumes (HDWL) (n = 17) for 6 weeks. The following variables were assessed before intervention, 3, and 6 weeks after it: Waist to hip ratio (WHR), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-sensitive-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), nitric oxides (NOx), and Malondialdehyde (MDA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both hypocaloric diets reduced hs-CRP in 3 weeks and returned it to basal values after 6 weeks (P = 0.004). HDWL significantly reduced WHR [P = 0.010 (3.2%)] and increased TC [P < 0.001 (6.3%)]. Despite the significant effect of HDEL on increasing TAC in 3 weeks [P = 0.050 (4%)], the level of TAC remained the same in 6 weeks. None of the diets had any significant effects on NOx and MDA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study indicated that beneficial effects of legumes on TC, LDL-C, and hs-CRP were achieved by three servings per week, and consuming more amounts of these products had no more advantages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vital Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Abdolrasoul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Safaeiyan
authors.affiliation: Professor, Nutrition Research Center AND Department of Biochemistry and Dietetics, School of Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pourghassem-Gargari
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Food and Beverages Safety Research Center AND Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Rasoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zarrin
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Javid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fereidooni
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Food and Beverages Safety Research Center AND Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alizadeh
keywords: Caloric Restriction; Cardiovascular Disease; Central Obesity; Legume; Premenopause