The Mediterranean diet, but not time-restricted eating, mediates the effects of nesfatin on beta cell function among overweight, metabolically healthy individuals

Abstract

Nesfatin concentrations are positively correlated with beta cell function. However, it is unclear whether diet composition mediates this relationship. We recruited 27 overweight individuals who practiced Orthodox fasting (OF), a subset of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), for 7 weeks. Fourteen overweight people who practiced 16:8 time-restricted eating served as control group. Anthropometric parameters, biochemical data and adipokine levels were evaluated at baseline and after the end of the diet period (7 weeks from baseline). Subsequently, participants were asked to return to their usual eating plans, and an additional evaluation was performed 5 weeks after the end of the research diets (12 weeks from baseline). We observed a significant and negative correlation between HOMA-B and nesfatin values at 12 weeks, only in the OF group (r = −0.455, p = 0.01). In conclusion, returning to normal eating habits after 7 weeks of strict adherence to MedDiet affects the homeostatic balance between insulin secretion and nesfatin.

Keywords:

• Adipokines
• nesfatin
• diet
• beta cell
• homa-b

Ethical approval

The research protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the AHEPA University Hospital (approval number 25224/2019).

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Author contributions

SNK conceptualised and designed the study. SNK, LA and TK collected all data. KM conducted the biochemical analysis of the samples. GD and DSP performed the statistical analysis. SNK, TK, and KK analysed and interpreted the data. TK performed the literature review and drafted the first version of the manuscript. All authors have read and critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data presented in the study are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.