Associations between Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener and Healthy Eating Index-2015 with Obesity in Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: Evaluating the agreement between the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 with the Mediterranean Diet Assessment Screener (MEDAS) and the associations with obesity were aimed. Materials and Methods: Four-hundred-and-four adults (134 men, 270 women) aged 19-65 participated in this study. HEI-2015 components were calculated from 24-hour dietary recall data. Mediterranean diet adherence was assessed using the MEDAS tool. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height, waist-to-hip ratio, body shape index (ABSI), and body roundness index (BRI) were calculated. Pearson correlation coefficients between diet quality and obesity were given. Cohen Kappa test was applied to show agreement between HEI-2015 and MEDAS. Results: Mean BMI, HEI-2015, and MEDAS scores were 25.35±5.21 kg/m2, 49.34±12.96, and 7.45±2.17, respectively. MEDAS were negatively related to BMI (r=-0.120, p