# Association Between Adequacy and Moderation of Quality of Diet with Metabolic Syndrome Parameters Among Iranian Health Workers Based on the Baseline Data of Employees Health Cohort Study

## TL;DR

This study examines how diet quality, specifically moderation, affects metabolic syndrome in Iranian health workers.

## Contribution

It identifies diet moderation as significantly associated with metabolic syndrome and its components in a Persian cohort.

## Key findings

- Diet moderation was significantly linked to metabolic syndrome and its components.
- No significant correlation was found between diet adequacy and metabolic syndrome.
- Higher moderation scores were associated with abdominal obesity and elevated blood sugar.

## Abstract

A healthy diet is essential for managing metabolic syndrome (MetS), but moderation and dietary adequacy remain ambiguous.

Data from the recruiting phase of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Employees Health Cohort Study (SUMS EHCS) were utilized to conduct this cross-sectional analysis. A validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to collect dietary data in the Persian cohort. In the current study, the healthy eating index (HEI-2015) includes two components, namely adequacy and moderation which were used to evaluate the quality of the diet.

The study included 3380 health workers, with a mean age of 41.81±7 years and 55.2% female. Among them, 22.3% met the ATP III criteria for MetS. The mean total HEI, adequacy, and moderation scores were 63.89±9.53, 41.03±5.88, and 20.13±4.90, respectively. Adjusted model analysis showed no significant correlation between diet adequacy and MetS or its components, but found a significant association between diet moderation and MetS (OR: 1.03 [1.008–1.05]), abdominal obesity (OR: 1.02 [1.003–1.04]), elevated serum triglycerides (TGs) (OR: 1.02 [1–1.03]), and elevated fasting blood sugar (FBS) (OR: 1.03 [1.005–1.05]).

This study found that there was a significant correlation between diet moderation and abdominal obesity, elevated serum TGs, elevated FBS, and MetS. Future studies on the topic are recommended.