ESPE Abstracts

Background: Dietary patterns have notably changed in Mediterranean countries during the last decades. Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) is associated with lower prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases.

Objective and hypotheses: To assess adherence to MeDiet in children and adolescents with abdominal obesity during a comprehensive weight loss intervention.

Method: Children and adolescents with abdominal obesity (waist circumference >p90) were enrolled in a randomized study during 8 weeks. Participants were divided into a control group (n=17) and an intervention group (n=46) according to a 1:3 relation. Conventional nutritional and lifestyle recommendations based in National Health System guidelines were explained to control participants. The weight loss program for the intervention participants consisted of a moderate calorie-restricted diet calculated according to children’s obesity degree. The degree of adherence to MeDiet was evaluated using the KIDMED index which categorized the quality of Mediterranean Diet as high (≥8 points), medium (4–7points) and poor (≤ 3 points). Statistical analyses (paired t-test) were performed in software STATA 12.0, and results are expressed as mean and S.D.

Results: Sixty-three participants (45 girls) aged between 7 and 17 years (11.12, 2.47) were assessed. The weight loss in the intervention group was statistically significant (ΔBMI-SDS: −0.53, 0.43; P<0.001). A medium adherence to MeDiet at baseline was found in all the subjects (KIDMED score_control 5.64, 1.57, KIDMED score_intervention 5.97, 2.03). Furthermore, after 8 weeks of intervention, 89% of participants of the intervention group had a significant higher KIDMED index 8.80, 1.37 (P<0.001). Moreover, at the end of the weight loss program, 98% of intervention participants had daily breakfast (P_Δ=0.017), and 91.3% reported to consume fish at least 2–3/week (P_Δ<0.001).

Conclusion: In children with high abdominal obesity a reduction in BMI-SDS improvement during a weight loss intervention was accompanied by an increase in adherence to MeDiet pattern.