Table 3 Characteristics of the participants

Age (years)

47.07 (10.29)

57.62 (10.30)

<0.001

45.18 (8.27)

55.67 (8.23)

<0.001

Waist circumference (cm)

89.04 (8.54)

90.01 (8.81)

<0.001

75.65 (7.32)

77.81 (8.39)

<0.001

Body Mass Index (kg/m²)

25.36 (2.72)

25.71 (3.00)

<0.001

23.43 (3.03)

24.07 (3.38)

<0.001

VO_2peak relative (ml/kg/min)

38.37 (7.99)

36.84 (8.63)

<0.002

29.42 (5.92)

27.93 (5.59)

<0.001

Total cholesterol (mg/dl)

206.39 (37.46)

205.74 (38.67)

0.732

207.72 (38.47)

224.55 (36.81)

<0.001

HDL cholesterol (mg/dl)

55.68 (11.87)

53.97 (11.64)

<0.001

70.80 (15.49)

69.19 (15.15)

0.100

LDL cholesterol (mg/dl)

127.95 (33.87)

130.29 (34.33)

0.166

118.13 (35.23)

136.17 (32.15)

<0.001

Ratio Total/HDL cholesterol

3.86 (1.03)

3.98 (1.18)

0.011

3.05 (0.88)

3.37 (0.85)

<0.001

Triglycerides (mg/dl)

111.73 (63.80)

108.13 (74.42)

0.347

92.02 (36.90)

95.89 (53.61)

0.285

Diet Quality Index (%)

61.98 (8.78)

63.82 (8.32)

<0.001

67.24 (8.11)

69.05 (7.07)

0.001

Mediterranean Diet Score (score on 9 points)

3.86 (1.53)

3.93 (1.54)

0.550

3.80 (1.51)

4.01 (1.47)

0.116

Healthy Eating Index-2010 (%)

44.85 (10.87)

46.68 (9.79)

0.002

49.22 (10.27)

52.03 (10.81)

0.001

%

%

p chi²

%

%

p chi²

Actual smokers (%)

13.7

8.8

<0.001

13.1

8.5

<0.001