Portside

An interesting study for the ladies was recently published in the Journal of Nutrition. The study found fruit, not vegetables and fiber eaten by middle-aged and older women with a normal BMI is associated with lower risk of becoming overweight or obese (2015;145(5):960-8).

The researchers goal was to investigate whether intake of fruits, vegetables and dietary fiber was associated with weight change and the risk of becoming overweight and obese. They studied 18,146 women aged 45 or older from the Women's Health Study free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to less than 25 kg/m(2).

During a mean follow-up of 15.9 years, 8,125 women became overweight or obese. Intakes of total fruits and vegetables, fruits and dietary fiber were not associated with the longitudinal changes in body weight, whereas higher vegetable intake was associated with greater weight gain. No association was observed for vegetable or dietary fiber intake. The association between fruit intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was modified by baseline BMI where the strongest inverse association was observed among women with a BMI less than 23 kg/m(2).