Comparison of a Mediterranean to a low-fat diet intervention in adults with type 1 diabetes and metabolic syndrome: A 6–month randomized trial

Background and aims The metabolic syndrome (MS) is an emerging complication in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), with no preventive or therapeutic treatment reported yet. We wanted to compare the impact of two 6-month nutritional interventions, based on a Mediterranean (MED) or a low-fat diet, on waist circumference, anthropometric and metabolic outcomes in patients with both T1D and the MS. Methods and results Participants were randomized into 2 intervention groups: 1) MED-diet or 2) low-fat diet. The 6-month study included 9 teaching sessions with a registered dietitian. Anthropometric (primary outcome: waist circumference), metabolic and nutritional assessments were performed at inclusion, 3 and 6-month. We used mixed effects models to assess the effects of both interventions. 28 participants were included (50.9 ± 10.3 years old) with a mean BMI of 30.7 ± 3.3 kg/m2 and a waist circumference of 105.5 ± 8.9 cm at inclusion. A trend towards a greater reduction of dietary fat intakes in the low-fat diet group was observed (P-interaction = 0.09). Waist circumference was reduced at 6-month in both groups (−3.5 cm low-fat; −1.5 cm MED-diet) with no significant difference between groups (P-interaction = 0.43). Body mass index also significantly decreased in both groups (−0.7 kg/m2 low-fat; −1.1 kg/m2 MED-diet; P-interaction = 0.56). No significant differences between groups were observed for other metabolic parameters. Conclusions This study suggests that a 6-month non-restrictive dietary intervention in patients with T1D and MS could contribute to weight management, without significant differences between interventions for anthropometric and metabolic parameters. Further studies should investigate the long-term benefits of these diets. Clinical trial registry NCT02821585 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/).