P-223: Comparing Dietary Intake in Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Background: Adequate nutritional status is a critical determinant of the onset and maintenance of normal reproductive function. More than 50% of women with PCOS are obese and central obesity plays a central role in the pathogenesis of PCOS by generating an insulin- resistant state, It has been proposed that recurrent hypoglycaemia due to hyperinsulinaemia could lead to decreased post-prandial satiety or increasing craving for or consumption of high carbohydrate foods.There is some evidence indicating that food choices may be altered in PCOS and a number of investigators showed that women with PCOS selectively choose foods that could worsen their presentation of PCOS, ie either foods that would predispose to obesity through their high energy density or foods that could have effects on metabolic parameters. The aim of this review article is to study the routine dietary intake among women with and without PCOS. Materials and Methods: This review article prepared by studying of articles obtained from Google, pub med sites with key words such as polycystic ovary syndrome; insulin resistance; diet, glycemic index. Results: Carmina etal indicated that American women with PCOS have a higher BMI and a greater use of saturated fat compared Italian women with PCOS. Further studies in patients with PCOS compared with healthy subjects indicated that diet does not differ between the two groups as regards energy, macronutrient with the eception of a lower percentage of energy from lipids and a higher intake of fibres by PCOS women. Altieri et al. (2012) indicated PCOS women were characterized by a higher consumption of cheese and high-glycaemic index starchy sweets and a preference for raw oil rather than other cooked fats, compared to controls. Similarily, Douglas et al. (2006) reported similar total energy, macronutrient, micronutrient and high GI food intake in overweight age and BMI-matched women with and without PCOS, but women with PCOS consumed higher amounts of a number of specific high GI foods (white bread, fried potatoes) than the subjects without PCOS. Barr et al. (2011) showed that nearly half of overweight women with pcos had low physical activity and mean dietary glycaemic index (GI) was higher in obese women with PCOS compared with healthy weight women with PCOS.They found that the percentage energy from carbohydrate intake was significantly lower and the percentage of energy from fat significantly higher in lean PCOS patients compared with lean control subjects, but there is similarity between overweight/obese PCOS patients and control subjects. Conversely, Moran et al. (2013) observed no differences in macronutrient intake between overweight subjects with or without PCOS.Women with PCOS had a better diet quality as indicated by a higher diet quality score and higher energy, fibre, folate, iron, calcium,magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vitamin E and zinc intake and lower percentage energy from saturated fat intake, glycaemic index and retinol intake than women without PCOS. Finally, Graff et al. (2013) studied dietry intake of Sixtyone women with PCOS and 44 non hirsute women with ovulatory cycles.It was found that PCOS and control women in the highest tertile of GI had higher body mass index and waist circumference than those in the lowest tertile.Dietary GI was higher in the classic PCOS group.Obesity and more severe PCOS phenotype explained 28.3% of variance in dietary GI. Conclusion: This review suggested that women with PCOS consume a larger quantity of specific foods with a high glycemic index and saturated fatty acids, despite sharing a diet that is similar in total energy, macronutrient, micronutrient, with age and weightmatched control women.