One avocado per day as part of usual intake improves diet quality: Exploratory results from a randomized controlled trial
This study by Petersen et al. (2024) aimed to investigate the impact of a food-based intervention on changes in the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 and to explore the relationship between HEI-2015 alterations and the intervention’s effects on cardiometabolic risk factors. Conducted as part of the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial, a multicenter randomized controlled parallel-arm study that lasted twenty-six weeks and included 1008 abdominally obese participants (≥ 25 years of age, waist circumference: males ≥ 40 inches, females ≥ 35 inches). Participants were divided into two groups: a habitual diet group, which maintained their usual dietary habits, and an avocado-supplemented diet group, which consumed one avocado daily. HEI-2015 changes were evaluated through a single 24-hour recall at four time points, and mixed models were utilized for analysis. Analysis of the results demonstrated that avocado supplementation substantially increased HEI-2015 scores at 26 weeks compared to controls. Furthermore, various components of HEI-2015, including fatty acid ratio, total vegetables, sodium, added sugars and refined grains, displayed greater improvements with avocado supplementation. Notably, differences in HEI-2015 enhancements were observed by gender, with females experiencing more significant increases than males in the avocado-supplemented diet group. However, changes in HEI-2015 were not predictive of alterations in cardiometabolic disease risk factors. Overall, the findings suggest that daily avocado consumption for 26 weeks among adults with abdominal obesity can enhance adherence to dietary guidelines. Yet, changes in diet quality do not necessarily correlate with changes in cardiometabolic risk factors. [NPID: Diet quality, cardiometabolic disease, avocado, obesity]
Year: 2024
