Abstract. Background: The association between dietary patterns and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is not well established. Objective: We sought to investigate association between a posteriori dietary pattern and CRF in middle-aged adults. Design: Adults (n = 276), aged 20–74 years, who were residents of Tehran, Iran were recruited. Diet was assessed by using a validated 168-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Principal component analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. Socio-economic status, anthropometric measures, body composition, and blood pressure were recorded. CRF was assessed by using a graded exercise treadmill test. Analysis of variance and linear regression models were used to discern the association between dietary patterns and CRF. Results: Higher scores of the healthy dietary pattern had no association with VO2max (p = 0.13 ). After controlling for potential confounders, VO2max was positively associated across tertiles of healthy dietary patterns (p < 0.001). Higher adherence to the “mixed” dietary pattern was inversely related to VO2max (p < 0.01). After adjusting for confounders, the significant association disappeared (p = 0.14). Higher scores of the “Western” dietary pattern was not associated with VO2max (p = 0.06). However, after controlling for potential confounders, VO2max was positively associated with the “Western” dietary pattern (p = 0.01). A positive linear association between the “healthy” dietary pattern and CRF for the total sample (R2 = 0.02; p < 0.01) were presented. Conclusions: Overall, our findings suggest that higher adherence to a “healthy” and “Western” dietary pattern was positively associated with CRF. However, further studies are required to examine and clarify the causal relationship between dietary patterns and CRF.
Changes in Dietary Patterns from Childhood to Adolescence and Associated Body Adiposity Status