Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life and Anthropometric Measurements in University Professors

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to assess the relationship between Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) according to the anthropometric measurements of teaching and research staff (TRS) at the University of Granada (UGR), Spain. This diagnostic, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and observational study was performed on university lecturers (65 women and 62 men) using a correlational descriptive methodology. The lecturers’ anthropometric measurements were taken, while MD adherence was determined using the PREvention with MEDiterranean diet (PREDIMED) questionnaire. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used for measuring HRQOL. Better results for body composition were associated with improvements in the physical and mental dimensions and MD adherence. Statistically significant differences were found between sexes, with men showing higher values for weight, height, waist circumference, BMI, waist/hip ratio (WHR), muscle mass, and systolic and diastolic pressure than women. Similarly, MD adherence was positively correlated with vitality (r = 0.233; p = 0.009), social functioning (r = 0.229; p = 0.008), and the mental component summary (r = 0.205; p = 0.021). The regression model determined that the mental component summary (β = 0.239, p = 0.041), diastolic pressure (PD) (β = −0.473, p < 0.000), fat percentage (FP) (β = −0.241, p = 0.004), and age (β = −0.231, p = 0.022) significantly predicted MD adherence. The results obtained in this study suggest that healthy dietary patterns such as the MD and an optimum body composition contribute to an improved HRQOL.