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Pasta intake associated with decrease in central, general obesity
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Consuming pasta as part of a Mediterranean diet is associated with a decrease in central and overall obesity, according to a comparative analysis of two large studies.
"By analyzing anthropometric data of the participants and their eating habits, we have seen that consumption of pasta, contrary to what many think, is not associated with an increase in body weight, rather the opposite,” George Pounis, PhD, a post-doctoral researcher in the department of epidemiology and prevention at I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed in Pozzilli, Italy, said in a press release. “Our data show that enjoying pasta according to individuals' needs contributes to a healthy [BMI], lower waist circumference and better waist–hip ratio.”
Pounis and colleagues analyzed data from 14,402 adults aged at least 35 years (7,216 women) participating in the Moli-sani project, a randomly recruited cohort from the Molise region of Italy, and 8,964 adults aged at least 18 years (4,782 women) participating in the Italian Nutrition & Health Survey (INHES), a telephone-based survey on nutrition and health specifically designed to collect information on dietary habits, food choice determinants and food heath awareness of the Italian population. Participants in the Moli-sani project completed a European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) food frequency questionnaire specifically adapted for the Italian population to determine nutritional intakes during the previous year; a computer program converted dietary data into frequencies of consumption and average daily amounts of foods and energy intake.
Among participants in the Moli-sani project, researchers found pasta consumption was associated with better adhesion to the Mediterranean diet (P < .001). Consumption of pasta also was associated with consumption of other food groups in the Mediterranean diet, including cooked tomatoes and other sauces (P < .001), and onions, garlic, olive oil, seasoned cheese and rice (P < .05 for all).
In simple linear regression analysis, pasta intake was positively associated with BMI in men and women, but researchers found underreporting of energy intake in women with obesity, and they elaborated energy residuals methodology to overcome related bias, changing the association from positive to negative.
Licia Iacoviello
After adjustments for age, energy intake, adherence to Mediterranean diet and other factors, pasta-energy residuals were negatively associated with BMI in women only (P = .003). In analysis stratified by body weight, initial positive associations of pasta intake with BMI changed to negative associations in the majority of body weight groups in men and women (P < .005). In linear regression analysis, pasta-body weight residuals were negatively associated with BMI in women (P < .001) and men (P < .001) after adjustment.
Among INHES participants, pasta intake was positively associated with BMI in women only (P = .001). However, in analysis stratified by quintiles of body weight, the association changed to negative in body women and men, according to researchers.
“Finally, correcting pasta intake by the body weight of the subjects, linear regression analysis showed a negative significant association of BMI with pasta-body weight residuals in both [sexes] and in multi-adjusted models,” the researchers wrote.
Researchers also found that pasta-body weight residuals were negatively associated with waist and hip circumference and waist-to-hip ratio in women and men in both crude and adjusted models (P < .05 for all).
“We're talking about a fundamental component of Italian Mediterranean tradition, and there is no reason to do without it,” Licia Iacoviello, MD, PhD, head of the laboratory of molecular and nutritional epidemiology at Neuromed Institute, said in the release. “The message emerging from this study, as from other scientific analyses conducted in the context of the Moli-sani project and INHES, is that Mediterranean diet, consumed in moderation and respecting the variety of all its elements (pasta in the first place), is good [for] your health.”
Iacoviello told Endocrine Today that adults should eat pasta in moderation (about 60 g daily or up to 10% of your ideal daily caloric intake), in the context of a balanced Mediterranean diet (with tomatoes, vegetables, legumes, fish and extra-virgin olive oil). – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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