Dietary fiber in the diets of urban Tunisian women: association of fiber intake with BMI, waist circumference and blood chemistry: preliminary study.

Background: The change of the way of life and the food practices in Tunisia due inter alia to the improvement of the socioeconomic conditions induced low fuel consumption of food with significant nutritional interest such as those rich in food fibres which have positive effects on the reduction and the prevention of some complications of the metabolic diseases such as the obesity whose prevalence among Tunisian women is increasingly high.

Objective: We assessed the association between the mean daily fiber intake and anthropometric parameters, the serum lipid profile and the serum glucose concentration among urban Tunisian women.

Methods: We conducted a 7-day food weighing method among 260 women of which 60 are obese (BMI > 30 kg/m(2)).