Study population

The present study is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in Tehran, Iran. The recruitment of subjects was realized from the health center using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method. The inclusion criteria were women with age ≥ 18 years, health status, obesity and overweight (body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2). The participants were not pregnant, not the history of diseases including type 2 diabetes (T2D), CVDs, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO), stroke, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), Inflammatory disease include allergy, asthma, autoimmune diseases, coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease, hypertension, cancer, and thyroid, and also have not used weight loss program and supplements during our study. Additionally, women taking medications such as lipid-lowering (e.g. Atorvastatin, Cholestyramine, etc.), antihypertensive (Captopril, etc.) and blood glucose controlling (Metformin, etc.) and also their total calorie intake was not in range between 800 and 4200 were excluded. A self-administered questionnaire was provided from all participants for their health status and the exclusion criteria of the study. Finally, total 404 eligible women were included into the present study. All protocols of this study were conducted in accordance with Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Ethical Committee of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) (NO: 97–03–161-41,017). All of the participants completed a written informed consent form before taking part in the study.