Hospital.Help

Berlin Eating habits that include a high proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids strengthen cardiometabolic health. Based on their findings, experts from the NutriAct competence cluster recommend adapting the nutritional recommendations for the population over 50 as a preventive measure (Nutrients2024; 10.3390/nu16071057).

The results are particularly relevant for older people, who have an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases, emphasized lead author Nina Meyer, a doctor at the Medical Clinic for Endocrinology and Metabolic Medicine at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

The specific diet could be useful as a preventive measure against such diseases without the need for drastic weight reduction and without the fear of loss of muscle mass, Meyer continued.

Conditions such as dyslipidemia and insulin resistance are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, especially in older people. Visceral fat (belly fat) promotes these conditions by releasing inflammatory mediators and other harmful messengers. People with a high proportion of visceral fat are more likely to have cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Against this background, scientists from the joint project Nutritional Intervention for Healthy Aging: Food Patterns, Behavior, and Products (NutriAct) investigated a special diet that was rich in unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), vegetable proteins and fiber.

This nutritional regimen was evaluated for its effects on reducing visceral fat and cardiometabolic risk profile in 502 study participants aged 50 to 80 years (64% female).

The NutriAct nutritional pattern prescribed a very specific composition of meals. Foods containing 35-40% fat (of which saturated fatty acids: ≤ 10%, monounsaturated fatty acids: 15-20%, polyunsaturated fatty acids: 10-15%), 15-25% protein, 35-45% carbohydrates and fiber (≥ 30g) should be consumed daily.

The control group received a diet with less fat (30%) and less protein (15%), which was compensated by an increased carbohydrate content of 55%. The nutritional intervention was implemented over a total of 3 years.

For the current evaluation, a metabolic profile (e.g. regarding the cardiometabolic risk marker LDL cholesterol) was created in a subgroup of 300 subjects and the visceral fat tissue was estimated at the beginning and after 12 months of nutritional intervention using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination.

The MRI examination showed a significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue in the intervention group, while there were no changes in the control group (p = 0.036). This reduction was mainly mediated by the increased intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids and was associated with an improvement in the cardiometabolic risk marker LDL cholesterol.

The changed intake of monounsaturated fatty acids, proteins and fiber does not seem to have been the main driver for the effect on visceral fat tissue, according to the assessment of Knut Mai, study leader and head of the Human Nutrition Department at the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrück (DIfE).

Interestingly, this effect was independent of the slight weight loss that occurred in both groups. This result underlines the importance of a modified nutrient composition in favor of high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, emphasize the study authors.

The NutriAct nutritional pattern had a positive effect on the reduction of visceral fat tissue, regardless of body weight loss, the study authors concluded. The findings from this study could now be used to adapt nutritional recommendations for people aged 50 and over.

According to Meyer, the NutriAct nutritional pattern could be easier to integrate into everyday life than other diets and could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in the general population.

The scientists from the NutriAct competence cluster, in which 30 research institutions and companies were involved, will continue to research the topic and further clarify the underlying mechanisms of these effects and the influence of the nutritional pattern on other cardiovascular systems, such as heart function. © cw/aerzteblatt.de