Background: Dietary habits play an important role in the prevention of chronic disease; however, few studies have assessed the major dietary patterns in Middle Eastern countries. This study identifies major dietary patterns among Iranian people with abnormal glucose homeostasis.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Diabetes Research Center, Isfahan, Iran among 425 subjects with abnormal glucose homeostasis. Patients were of ages 35 – 55 years and had family histories of diabetes. We assessed dietary intake by the use of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) that contained 39 food items. General obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 and central obesity was defined as waist circumference (WC) ≥ 88 in women and WC ≥ 102 in men.

Results: Five major dietary patterns were revealed by factor analysis: ‘western’, ‘healthy’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘high-fat dairy’, and ‘chicken and plants’. Those in the top tertile of the ‘western pattern’ had greater odds for general (OR = 1.73; 95% CI = 1.07 – 2.78) and central obesity (OR = 2, 95% CI = 1.24 – 3.22), however these associations were not significant after adjustment for confounding variables. The ‘high-fat dairy pattern’ was associated with greater odds of general obesity only after adjusting for confounding variables (OR = 1.73; 95%CI = 1.01 – 2.96).

Conclusion: The dietary pattern characterized by high intake of hydrogenated fat and sugar was shown to be positively associated with a risk of general and central obesity, however further prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.