Effect of soy flour enriched bread consumption on anthropometric indices and blood pressure and its association with ApoE genotype in overweight and obese women

Background: Recent publications indicate that consumption of soy products may have favorable effects on body composition and blood pressure. These effects might be associated with presence of specific polymorphism in Apo E gene. This study was conducted to examine the effects of consumption of soy flour enriched bread on anthropometric indices and blood pressure and its association with ApoE genotype in overweight and obese women.

Methods: In this randomized cross-over clinical, 30 overweight and obese women were randomly assigned to regular diet and soy bread diet groups and received a mild weight loss diet for 6 weeks and a washout period for 20-d. Subjects in the soy bread diet were asked to consume 120 gr of enriched soy bread instead of the same amount of their usual bread intake.

Results: No significant effects of soy bread on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and anthropometric indices were observed compared to the regular diet (P> 0.05). For diastolic blood pressure (DBP), comparison of mean differences of variables between two groups showed a marginally significant effect of soy bread (P=0.06). Compared to the regular diet, soy bread had a significant effect on DBP in the group with Apo ɛ2 allele (P=0.028).

Conclusion:  Soy bread consumption might have favorable effects on the blood pressure of overweight and obese women with E2 allele.