Intakes of high sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in adults can escalate risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, data of longitudinal studies in children and adolescents are lacking. In this study we assessed consumption of SSBs in relation to incidence of MetS among children and adolescents during a 3.6 year follow-up. This study was a population-based longitudinal study, in which 424 subjects, aged 6–18 years, from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study with complete data on dietary intake, blood pressure, anthropometry, and biochemical indices were followed for 3.6 years. Dietary intake was collected using a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire. MetS was defined according to the Cook criteria. Sugar sweetened beverages included all kinds of sugar sweetened carbonated soft drinks (SSSDs) and fruit juice drinks. Average daily intakes of SSSD and fruit juice drinks were 38.5 ± 75.0 and 32.3 ± 60.1 g, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, compared to the first quartile, the odds ratio of incident MetS in the highest quartile of SSB and SSSD was 3.20 (95 % CI: 1.06–9.90) and 3.01 (95 % CI: 1.17–7.74), respectively. Regarding incidence of MetS components, compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of SSSDs showed odds ratios of 2.49 (95 % CI: 1.00–6.53) for abdominal obesity and 2.79 (95 % CI: 1.02–7.64) for hypertension. No significant association was found between consumption of fruit juice drink and SSSD with other components of MetS. Children and adolescents with high intakes of carbonated beverages could be at increased risk of MetS, abdominal obesity, and hypertension.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between total polyphenol intake, its subclasses (including flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbenes and lignans), and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a representative of 2618 adults, aged 19 to 84 years. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire and intakes of total polyphenol and four main subclasses of polyphenol including flavonoids, phenolic acids, stilbenes and lignans were determined. Higher consumption of flavonoid intakes was associated with lower odds of enlarged waist circumference, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL cholesterol, hyperglycemia, hypertension and MetS. Subjects in the highest quartile of lignan intakes had higher odds of having hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia. Subjects in the highest quartile of stilbene intakes had higher odds of having hypertension. Intakes of selected subclasses of polyphenol such as flavonoids are associated with a lower prevalence of MetS among Tehranians.

The present randomised cross-over clinical trial investigated the effects of two intervention diets (non-soya legume-based therapeutic lifestyle change (TLC) diet v. isoenergetic legume-free TLC diet) on inflammatory biomarkers among type 2 diabetic patients. A group of thirty-one participants (twenty-four women and seven men; weight 74·5 (sd 7·0) kg; age 58·1 (sd 6·0) years) were randomly assigned to one of the two following intervention diets for 8 weeks: legume-free TLC diet or non-soya legume-based TLC diet. The latter diet was the same as the legume-free TLC diet, except that two servings of red meat were replaced with different types of cooked non-soya legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, peas and beans over a period of 3 d per week. The intervention period was followed by a washout period of 4 weeks, after which the groups followed the alternate treatment for 8 weeks. Concentrations of inflammatory markers were measured at baseline and after the intervention periods. Compared with the legume-free TLC diet, the non-soya legume-based TLC diet significantly decreased high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, IL-6 and TNF-α in overweight diabetic patients. The replacement of two servings of red meat by non-soya legumes in the isoenergetic TLC diet for a period of 3 d per week reduced the plasma concentrations of inflammatory markers among overweight diabetic patients, independent of weight change.