Association of Adherence to Specific Mediterranean Diet Components and Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Young Adults

• Published in: Nutrients 2020-03, Vol.12 (3), p.776
• Main Authors: Santi-Cano, Mª José, Novalbos-Ruiz, José Pedro, Bernal-Jiménez, María Ángeles, Bibiloni, María Del Mar, Tur, Josep A, Rodriguez Martin, Amelia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Body mass; Body mass index; Body size; Body weight; Cardiorespiratory fitness; Cardiorespiratory Fitness - physiology; Cardiorespiratory Fitness - psychology; Cholesterol; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Diet Surveys; Diet, Healthy - psychology; Diet, Healthy - statistics & numerical data; Diet, Mediterranean - psychology; Diet, Mediterranean - statistics & numerical data; Energy intake; Fatty acids; Feeding Behavior - physiology; Feeding Behavior - psychology; Female; Fitness equipment; Human subjects; Humans; Low density lipoprotein; Male; Meat; Medical research; Metabolic syndrome; Nutrition research; Nuts; Olive oil; Overweight; Oxygen consumption; Oxygen uptake; Patient Compliance - psychology; Physical activity; Physical fitness; Questionnaires; Spain; Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Young adults
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu12030776

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and a healthy diet may be part of an overall healthy lifestyle. The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and adherence to an overall Mediterranean Diet (MedD) pattern and specific MedD foods has been assessed. Subjects completed a lifestyle survey and dietary pattern, using the validated MedD Adherence 14-item questionnaire and two self-reported 24-h dietary recalls. Participants' height, body weight, waist circumference (WC), and CRF (maximum oxygen uptake, VO ml/kg/min) were measured. University of Cádiz, Spain. A sample of young adults ( = 275, 22.2 ± 6.3 years). Mean VO was 43.9 mL/kg/min (SD 8.5 mL/kg/min). Most participants had healthy CRF (75.9%). The average MedD score was 6.2 points (SD 1.8 points). Participants who consumed more servings of nuts had higher VO . Those who showed low CRF performed less physical activity (PA) and had a higher body mass index (BMI) and WC compared with those classified as having healthy CRF. Nut consumption was positively associated with VO (β = 0.320; 95% CI 2.4, 10.7; < 0.002), adjusting for sex, age, smoking PA, BMI, WC, and energy intake, showing the subjects who consumed more nuts were fitter than young adults who consumed less. CRF is positively associated with nut consumption but not with the overall MedD pattern and all other MedD foods in the young adults. The subjects who consumed more servings of nuts were fitter than young adults who consumed less. Moreover, fitter subjects performed more PA and had a lower BMI and WC than those who had lower fitness levels.