Assessing the Effect of MUFA- Rich Diet on Anthropometric Measurements Indexed in Overweight Women

According to the relationship between general and central obesity with chronic disease and also the effect of the dietary fatty acids on anthropometric measurements, the purpose of the current study was to assess the effect of a MUFA-rich diet on the anthropometric measurements indexes in overweight women. This randomized cross-over clinical trial included 17 overweight women aged 20-50 years old with the mean BMI of 27.6±2 kg/m2. Volunteers were randomly allocated to one of the two diets for 6 weeks; a control group diet (16% SFA and 8% MUFA) and a studied MUFA-rich diet (16% MUFA and 8% SFA), which was accompanied by 2 weeks of washout period between the 2 feeding periods. There were no significant differences among other macronutrients intake (total fat, PUFA, carbohydrate, protein) and between the two diets. Anthropometric assessments were conducted at the baseline and the end of each treatment period. Data were analyzed using Paired t-test. The energy percentage of MUFA was 13% and 7% in MUFA-rich diet and the control diet respectively. The corresponding values of SFA were 8.5% and 14%, respectively. The mean changes in MUFA-rich diet and the control diet were -2.9 kg vs. -2.3 in weight (P=0.4), -1.1 kg/m2 vs. -0.93 kg/m2 in BMI (P=0.6), -2 kg vs -1.4 kg in the fat mass (P=0.2) and -0.9 kg vs. -0.9 kg in the lean mass (P=0.98), respectively. The waist circumference and WHR were not significantly different between the two diet period (P= 0.5, 0.8) respectively. Although based on the findings of this study, there were no significant differences between the two diets in terms of their effect on the anthropometric measurements, but due to the health consequences of general and central obesity, designating long-term interventional studies with large sample sizes are essential.