BACKGROUND: There is concern about celiac disease patients being overweight and gaining more weight while on a gluten-free diet (GFD). AIM: To investigate body mass index (BMI) and effect of GFD on BMI of celiac disease patients in the United States where obesity is a systematic problem. METHODS: BMI at diagnosis and after 2.8 years (mean) on a GFD were compared with national data. RESULTS: Among our patients (n=369, 67.2% female), 17.3% were underweight, 60.7% normal, 15.2% overweight, and 6.8% obese. All patients were followed by a dietitian. Compared with national data, females had lower BMI (21.9 vs. 24.2, P<0.0001) and fewer were overweight (11% vs. 21%, P<0.0001); more males had a normal BMI (59.5% vs. 34%, P<0.0001) and fewer were underweight (9.1% vs. 26.7%, P<0.0001). Factors associated with low BMI were female sex, Marsh IIIb/c histology, and presentation with diarrhea. On GFD, 66% of those who were underweight gained weight, whereas 54% of overweight and 47% of obese patients lost weight. CONCLUSIONS: A GFD had a beneficial impact on BMI, underweight patients gained weight and overweight/obese patients lost weight. The improvement in BMI adds to the impetus to diagnose celiac disease. Expert dietary counseling may be a major factor in the beneficial effects we noted.
BACKGROUND: There is concern about celiac diseasepatients being overweight and gaining more weight while on a gluten-free diet (GFD). AIM: To investigate body mass index (BMI) and effect of GFD on BMI of celiac diseasepatients in the United States where obesity is a systematic problem. METHODS: BMI at diagnosis and after 2.8 years (mean) on a GFD were compared with national data. RESULTS: Among our patients (n=369, 67.2% female), 17.3% were underweight, 60.7% normal, 15.2% overweight, and 6.8% obese. All patients were followed by a dietitian. Compared with national data, females had lower BMI (21.9 vs. 24.2, P<0.0001) and fewer were overweight (11% vs. 21%, P<0.0001); more males had a normal BMI (59.5% vs. 34%, P<0.0001) and fewer were underweight (9.1% vs. 26.7%, P<0.0001). Factors associated with low BMI were female sex, Marsh IIIb/c histology, and presentation with diarrhea. On GFD, 66% of those who were underweight gained weight, whereas 54% of overweight and 47% of obesepatients lost weight. CONCLUSIONS: A GFD had a beneficial impact on BMI, underweight patients gained weight and overweight/obesepatients lost weight. The improvement in BMI adds to the impetus to diagnose celiac disease. Expert dietary counseling may be a major factor in the beneficial effects we noted.
Authors: M Barone; N Della Valle; R Rosania; A Facciorusso; A Trotta; F P Cantatore; S Falco; S Pignatiello; M T Viggiani; A Amoruso; R De Filippis; A Di Leo; R Francavilla Journal: Eur J Clin Nutr Date: 2015-07-15 Impact factor: 4.016
Authors: Geng Zong; Benjamin Lebwohl; Frank B Hu; Laura Sampson; Lauren W Dougherty; Walter C Willett; Andrew T Chan; Qi Sun Journal: Diabetologia Date: 2018-08-03 Impact factor: 10.122
Authors: Natalia E Castillo; Rohini R Vanga; Thimmaiah G Theethira; Alberto Rubio-Tapia; Joseph A Murray; Javier Villafuerte; Alan Bonder; Rupa Mukherjee; Joshua Hansen; Melinda Dennis; Ciaran P Kelly; Daniel A Leffler Journal: Am J Gastroenterol Date: 2015-07-07 Impact factor: 10.864
Authors: Toufic A Kabbani; Ciaran P Kelly; Rebecca A Betensky; Joshua Hansen; Kumar Pallav; Javier A Villafuerte-Gálvez; Rohini Vanga; Rupa Mukherjee; Aileen Novero; Melinda Dennis; Daniel A Leffler Journal: Gastroenterology Date: 2013-01-24 Impact factor: 22.682