Randomised controlled trial of lifestyle interventions for abdominal obesity in primary health care.

AIM: Assess effects on waist circumference from diet with or without cereal grains and with or without long-term physical exercise. BACKGROUND: Elevated waist circumference is an indicator of increased abdominal fat storage and is accordingly associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. This is likely due to the association between lifestyle-induced changes in waist circumference and cardiovascular risk factors. Reductions in waist circumference may be facilitated by diet without cereal grains combined with long-term physical exercise. METHODS: Two-year randomised controlled trial with factorial trial design in individuals at increased risk of cardiovascular disease with increased waist circumference. Participants were allocated diet based on current Swedish dietary guidelines with or without cereal grains (baseline diet information supported by monthly group sessions) and with or without physical exercise (pedometers and two initial months of weekly structured exercise followed by written prescription of physical activity) or control group. The primary outcome was the change in waist circumference. FINDINGS: The greatest mean intervention group difference in the change in waist circumference among the 73 participants (47 women and 26 men aged 23-79 years) was at one year between participants allocated a diet without cereal grains and no exercise and participants allocated a diet with cereal grains and no exercise [M = -5.3 cm and -0.9 cm, respectively; mean difference = 4.4 cm, 4.0%, 95% CI (0.0%, 8.0%), P = 0.051, Cohen's d = 0.75]. All group comparisons in the change in waist circumference were non-significant despite the greatest group difference being more than double that estimated in the pre-study power calculation. The non-significance was likely caused by too few participants and a greater than expected variability in the change in waist circumference. The greatest mean intervention group difference strengthens the possibility that dietary exclusion of cereal grains could be related to greater reduction in waist circumference.

Inverse association between Paleolithic Diet Fraction and mortality and incidence of cardiometabolic disease in the prospective Malmö Diet and Cancer Study.

PURPOSE: Paleolithic Diet Fraction (PDF) estimates how large a portion of the absolute dietary intake stems from food groups included in the Paleolithic diet. In randomized controlled trials higher PDFs have been associated with healthier levels of cardiometabolic risk markers. Our aim was to build upon these findings by examining associations between PDF and mortality and incidence of cardiometabolic disease in the prospective Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. METHODS: PDF was calculated from an interview-based, modified diet history method, and associations were estimated by using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. The examined cohort consisted of 24,104 individuals (44-74 years, 63% women) without previous coronary events, diabetes, or stroke at baseline (1992-1996). A total of 10,092 individuals died during a median follow-up of 18 years. RESULTS: Median PDF was 40% (0-90%). The adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for PDF as a continuous variable (from 0 to 100%) were for risk of death from all causes 0.55 [95% CI 0.45, 0.66], tumor 0.68 [95% CI 0.49, 0.93], cardiovascular 0.55 [95% CI 0.39, 0.78], respiratory 0.44 [95% CI 0.21, 0.90], neurological 0.26 [95% CI 0.11, 0.60], digestive, 0.10 [95% CI 0.03, 0.30], and other diseases 0.64 [95% CI 0.41, 1.00]. The corresponding HR for risk of coronary event was 0.61 [95% 0.43, 0.86], for ischemic stroke it was 0.73 [95% 0.48, 1.09] and for type 2 diabetes it was 0.82 [95% 0.61, 1.10]. CONCLUSION: Observational data suggest an inverse association between PDF and all-cause as well as cause-specific mortality and incidence of cardiometabolic disease.