Table 1 Baseline participant characteristics, stratified by diet group and by sex

General characteristics

Age (years)

59.8 ± 8.8

60.5 ± 7.9

0.667

58.3 ± 8.9

62.0 ± 7.5

0.034

Sex (n, % women)

31 (57%)

18 (46%)

0.283

n/a

n/a

Premenopausal (n, %)

7 (13%)

1 (3%)

0.078

8 (16%)

n/a

BMI (kg/m²)

31.2 ± 3.8

31.4 ± 2.8

0.792

31.7 ± 3.8

30.8 ± 2.9

0.231

Body weight (kg)

90.8 ± 12.7

93.4 ± 12.9

0.336

86.9 ± 11.5

97.4 ± 11.9

< 0.001

Waist circumference (cm)

100.9 ± 10.2

105.2 ± 9.5

0.042

98.2 ± 9.5

107.7 ± 8.2

< 0.001

Waist-to-hip (ratio)

0.92 ± 0.10

0.96 ± 0.09

0.088

0.86 ± 0.06

1.02 ± 0.06

< 0.001

Total cholesterol (mmol/L)

5.18 ± 0.91

5.25 ± 0.93

0.698

5.52 ± 0.92

4.86 ± 0.78

< 0.001

Systolic blood pressure (mmHg)

126 ± 14

131 ± 11

0.072

123 ± 12

133 ± 12

< 0.001

Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg)

83.5 ± 9

85 ± 7

0.317

84 ± 8

85 ± 9

0.700

Glucose parameters

HbA1c (mmol/L)

34.0 [32.0; 37.0]

36.0 [33.0; 40.0]

0.090

34.0 [33.0; 38.5]

34.0 [32.3; 38.0]

0.879

Fasting glucose (mmol/L)

5.5 ± 0.7

5.7 ± 0.7

0.398

5.5 ± 0.7

5.7 ± 0.8

0.187

2-hr glucose (mmol/L)

6.4 [5.1; 7.3]

6.7 [5.2; 8.7]

0.360

6.5 [5.3; 7.3]

6.4 [5.1; 8.5]

0.979

Fasting insulin (pmol/L)

53.4 [37.6; 58.9]

54.5 [38.1; 68.5]

0.356

52.1 [37.2; 66.4]

56.7 [41.1; 67.9]

0.310

HOMA-IR (A.U.)

1.80 [1.26; 2.54]

1.97 [1.46;2.41]

0.302

1.80 [1.18; 2.49]

2.02 [1.37; 2.55]

0.221

Matsuda index (A.U.)

11.2 [7.7; 16.5]

9.2 [6.8; 13.8]

0.284

11.2 [7.3; 17.3]

10.3 [7.0; 13.9]

0.310

HIRI (A.U.)

517 [300; 639]

430 [333; 569]

0.762

418 [308; 588]

423 [311; 599]

0.945

MISI (A.U.)

0.121 [0.088; 0.200]

0.148 [0.100; 0.199]

0.740

0.129 [0.093; 0.199]

0.134 [0.088; 0.209]

0.911

Body composition

Body fat (%)

38.9 [31.1; 44.1]

34.4 [30.9; 43.1]

0.719

43.5 [40.5; 46.0]

30.9 [27.5; 32.6]

< 0.001

Fat ratio (%)

58.1 ± 9.4

58.6 ± 7.4

0.758

63.6 ± 6.2

52.3 ± 6.7

< 0.001

VAT (L)

5.5 ± 2.3

6.1 ± 2.1

0.209

4.4 ± 1.4

7.3 ± 1.9

< 0.001

aSAT (L)

10.0 [6.8; 13.5]

9.8 [8.4; 13.5]

0.933

12.7 [9.9; 14.6]

7.9 [6.4; 9.6]

< 0.001

Muscle fat (%)

8.0 [6.2; 9.3]

7.6 [6.7; 8.4]

0.631

8.3 [7.4; 9.8]

6.7 [5.6; 7.7]

< 0.001

Liver fat (%)

4.0 [2.7; 9.4]

8.2 [3.6; 16.3]

0.052

4.6 [3.1; 13.6]

5.3 [3.1; 12.2]

0.721

Abdominal AT index (L/m²)

5.6 ± 1.6

5.7 ± 1.2

0.750

6.2 ± 1.4

5.0 ± 1.3

< 0.001

Weight-to-muscle (ratio)

8.0 [7.0; 9.7]

7.8 [7.1; 9.4]

0.768

9.4 [8.4; 10.3]

7.1 [6.5; 7.5]

< 0.001

Muscle volume (L)

11.1 [9.3; 13.4]

12.1 [9.3; 14.4]

0.409

9.3 [8.4; 10.3]

13.9 [12.6; 14.6]

< 0.001

Muscle volume (Z-score)

0.224 ± 1.074

0.062 ± 1.055

0.461

0.100 ± 1.148

0.220 ± 0.921

0.584