Association between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eatwell Guide and changes in weight and waist circumference in post-menopausal women in the UK Women’s Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the associations between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eatwell Guide (EWG) and changes in weight and waist circumference in post-menopausal women. STUDY DESIGN: Post-hoc analysis of post-menopausal women from the UK Women’s Cohort Study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in weight, waist circumference and the risk of abdominal and general obesity. RESULTS: 4162 post-menopausal women were selected. Higher adherence to both the EWG and the Mediterranean Diet was associated with smaller increases in waist circumference over 4 years (EWG: β −0.47, CI −0.75, −0.20 per 1 tertile increase in score), (Mediterranean Diet: β −0.29, CI −0.58, −0.01 per 1 tertile increase in score); and lower risk of abdominal obesity (EWG: OR 0.55, CI 0.43, 0.70 third versus the first tertile), (Mediterranean Diet: OR 0.60, CI 0.46, 0.76 third versus the first tertile), but was not associated with weight changes (EWG: β 0.14, CI −0.07, 0.36 per 1 tertile increase in score), (Mediterranean Diet: β 0.03, CI −0.19, 0.25 per 1 tertile increase in score) or risk of becoming overweight or obese (EWG: OR 1.09, CI 0.77, 1.52 third versus the first tertile), (Mediterranean Diet: OR 0.91, CI 0.65, 1.27 third versus the first tertile). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that adherence to either the Mediterranean Diet or the EWG can help to prevent abdominal obesity in post-menopausal women.