The standard pattern of Brazilian food consumption is based on the combination of rice and beans served together in the main meals. This study assessed the effects of Brazilian-staple calorie-restricted (BS-diet) dietary advice, with brown rice and beans, on metabolic parameters, body composition, and food intake in overweight/obese subjects.

Twentyseven subjects were randomly assigned to a conventional-type calorie-restricted diet (CT-diet) ( n = 13) or a BS-diet ( n = 14). Glucose metabolism, lipid profile, anthropometric and body composition parameters, and food intake were measured before and after 16 weeks. Paired t-tests/Wilcoxon tests were used for comparison of differences from baseline and unpaired t-tests/Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of differences between the groups.

After 16 weeks, both groups showed reductions in weight and waist circumference ( P < 0.02), and the BS-diet group showed a decrease in body fat ( P = 0.0001), and significant improvement in glucose metabolism (fasting plasma glucose, glucose and insulin areas under the curve, Cederholm index, and HOMA2-%β) ( P ≤ 0.04) and lipid profile (cholesterol, triacylglycerol, LDL-c, VLDL-c, and cholesterol/HDL-c ratio) ( P ≤ 0.05). In addition, the BS-diet group showed significant improvement in HOMA2-%β, compared to the CT-diet group ( P = 0.03). The BS-diet group also showed a significant reduction in energy, lipids, carbohydrate, and cholesterol intake ( P ≤ 0.04) and an increase in fiber intake ( P ≤ 0.001), while the CT-diet group showed a significant reduction in intake of energy, macronutrients, PUFA, and cholesterol ( P ≤ 0.002).

These results demonstrate the benefits of the BS-diet on metabolic parameters in obese subjects.