Pasta Consumption and Cardiometabolic Risks in Older Adults with Overweight/Obesity: A Longitudinal Analysis

Low Glycemic Index (GI) diets improve cardiometabolic risk (CMR) specifically in those with insulin resistance. However, the prospective association between pasta (a low GI staple) consumption and CMR is unclear. We evaluated the longitudinal association of pasta consumption with CMR (after 2 y: body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP); after 1 y: fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) in ∼6000 older adults (50% women) at high CMR.

Consumption of pasta and other staples were determined as the cumulative average of reported intakes at baseline and annual follow-up visits from food frequency questionnaires and defined as energy-adjusted (residuals) and the number of daily servings. Longitudinal association between pasta consumption and CMR was assessed in PREDIMED-Plus participants (Trail registry number: ISRCTN89898870).

Mean (SD) dry pasta intake was 9(7) g/d at Year 1 and 8(6) g/d at Year 2. In linear regression models, higher pasta intake was associated with greater 2 y decreases in body weight, BMI and WC. When fully adjusted, every additional serving of pasta was associated with significantly greater 2 y decreases in body weight (-2.23(-3.47, -0.98 kg), BMI (-0.86(-1.27, -0.34 kg/m²) and WC (-1.92 (-3.46, -0.38 cm). There was no evidence of association with other outcomes. Additionally, substituting equivalent servings of pasta for white bread or white rice or potato was significantly associated with greater 2 y decreases in body weight and BMI. Replacing white bread with pasta was associated with higher 2 y reductions in WC. Replacing potato with pasta was associated with improvements in diastolic BP and HDL-cholesterol. Conclusions: Equivalent serving substitutions of white bread/white rice/potato with pasta may help reduce CMR in older Mediterranean adults with overweight/obesity. While such substitutions are feasible where pasta consumption aligns with the local gastronomic culture, the feasibility and potential CMR benefit of such interventions should be confirmed in other populations.