Mediterranean Diet, a Posteriori Dietary Patterns, Time-Related Meal Patterns and Adiposity: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study in University Students

Overview

Journal Diseases

Date 2022 Sep 22

PMID 36135220

Authors

Paraskevi Detopoulou

Vassilis Dedes

Dimitra Syka

Konstantinos Tzirogiannis

Georgios I Panoutsopoulos

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The transition to university is connected to potentially obesogenic dietary changes. Our aim was to assess the relation of Mediterranean diet adherence, and a posteriori dietary and meal patterns with adiposity in Greek students at the University of the Peloponnese. A total of 346 students (269 women) participated. Anthropometry was performed, and a food frequency questionnaire was administered. The MedDietScore was higher in women and was not linearly related to adiposity. Principal component analysis revealed six patterns: (1) legumes/vegetables/fruits/tea/dairy/whole grains, (2) juice/sodas/liquid calories, (3) olive oil/fats, (4) meat/poultry/fish, (5) alcohol/eggs/dairy and (6) fast foods/sweets. Patterns 4 and 6 were related to overweight/obesity probability (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 0.995-2.538 and OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.07-6.06, respectively) and higher waist circumference (men). Men "early eaters" (breakfast/morning/afternoon snack) had a higher MedDietScore and lower overweight probability (OR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.220-1.020). Poor meal and dietary patterns relate to overweight and central obesity, which is important for targeted health promotion programs.

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