Study Protocol of a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial to Tackle Obesity through a Mediterranean Diet vs. a Traditional Low-Fat Diet in Adolescents: The MED4Youth Study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to compare the effects of a traditional low-fat diet intervention against a Mediterranean Diet-based intervention on youth obesity and associated cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Results Summary
The abstract does not provide specific results regarding the low-fat diet's effects, as the study appears to be in progress or not yet concluded.
Population
Overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mediterranean Diet (MD) | decrease | youth obesity and associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | strengthen the link between the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the health benefits | #1 |
Mediterranean Diet (MD) including sourdough bread and healthy products from the Mediterranean basis (chickpeas/hummus, nuts, and pomegranate juice) | decrease | youth obesity and associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | identifying positive effects exerted by | #2 |
MD-based intervention | neutral | - | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | will be compared to | #3 |
traditional low-fat diet intervention | neutral | - | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | will be compared to | #4 |
educational web-application addressed to engage the adolescents through a learning-through-playing approach, using both educational materials and games | neutral | - | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | will be combined with | #5 |
MD-based intervention | neutral | gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | can shape | #6 |
traditional low-fat diet intervention | neutral | gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites | overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy | - | can shape | #7 |
Youth obesity is a strong predictor of adult obesity, which has well-known negative health consequences. Thus, addressing adult obesity requires tackling youth obesity. MED4Youth's main objective is to strengthen the link between the Mediterranean Diet (MD) and the health benefits against youth obesity and associated cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, identifying positive effects exerted by an MD including sourdough bread and healthy products from the Mediterranean basis (chickpeas/hummus, nuts, and pomegranate juice). For this purpose, a multicenter randomized controlled trial in which an MD-based intervention will be compared to a traditional low-fat diet intervention will be carried out with 240 overweight and obese adolescents (13-17 years) from Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Both interventions will be combined with an educational web-application addressed to engage the adolescents through a learning-through-playing approach, using both educational materials and games. To assess the interventions, adherence to the MD, dietary records, physical activity, food frequency, sociodemographic, and quality of life questionnaires as well as classical anthropometric and biochemical parameters will be evaluated. Furthermore, an omics approach will be performed to elucidate whether the interventions can shape the gut microbiota and gut-derived metabolites to gain knowledge on the mechanisms through which the MD can exert its beneficial effects.