The effect of Mediterranean diet application on dietary inflammatory index, body composition and some biochemical parameters in adult female individuals

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of the Mediterranean diet and standard healthy eating intervention on anthropometric measurements, body composition, and some biochemical parameters in overweight and obese adult female individuals, as well as to determine the relationship with the diet inflammatory index (DII). The study was conducted with 105 adult female individuals, with a mean age of 36.8±9.82 years, who applied to a private nutrition and diet counseling center located in Ankara province between March and May 2021. The individuals had a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 25.0 kg/m2 (overweight and obese). One group was subjected to the Mediterranean diet (MD) intervention, while the other group received a standard diet (SD) intervention, and they were followed for nine weeks. The participants' descriptive characteristics, health information, and dietary habits were recorded in a questionnaire form. At the beginning and end of the study, the individuals' physical activity levels, anthropometric measurements, body composition analyses, biochemical findings, daily energy intake, macro and micronutrient intake levels were determined, and the DII was calculated based on seven-day food consumption records. The Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS) and the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Quality of Life Scale were applied to the individuals. At the end of the study, when the changes in anthropometric measurements were compared, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, neck circumference, and waist-to-height ratio decreased significantly in both groups compared to the baseline (p<0.001). The change in neck circumference measurement values was found to be significantly higher in the MD group (p<0.01). The DII value of individuals in the Mediterranean diet group decreased significantly from -0.1±1.76 to -1.6±1.91 at the end of the study (p<0.001). At the end of the study, the DII value of the MD group was significantly lower than the SD group (p<0.001). Fasting insulin, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels of the individuals decreased significantly in both diet groups (p<0.05). Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels decreased significantly only in the MD group (p<0.01). C-reactive protein (CRP) value decreased significantly in the MD v group compared to the SD group at the end of the study (p<0.05). The change in interleukin-6 (IL-6) value was not statistically significant between the groups (p>0.05). The Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS) score increased significantly only in the MD group (p<0.001). There was a negative correlation between the DII outcome values of individuals receiving the Mediterranean diet and their MEDAS scores (p<0.05). At the end of the study, the vitality (energy), mental health, and general health perception scores of the SF-36 subscales were higher in the MD group compared to the SD group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the Mediterranean diet intervention was found to be more effective in reducing the DII and lowering the inflammatory marker CRP, this study indicating that both diet interventions had similar effects on anthropometric measurements. Keywords: Mediterranean diet, diet inflammatory index, obesity, quality of life