The effect of consumption of soy foods on metabolic syndrome in women: a case study from peri-urban Qwa-Qwa, South Africa

  • Wilna Oldewage-Theron Texas Tech University
  • Abdulkadir Egal Vaal University of Technology
Keywords: metabolic syndrome, South Africa, soy consumption, women

Abstract

Objectives: The objective was to determine the long-term effect (18 months) of 40 g daily consumption of whole soy bean on metabolic syndrome (MetS) in apparently healthy women.

Design: Single-system experimental design.

Subjects and setting: Ninety women were randomly recruited from three communities in Qwa-Qwa, Free State province.

Outcome measures: Dietary intake (24-h recall questionnaire), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, fasting venous blood samples for total serum cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TRGs) and glucose analyses.

Results: The prevalence of MetS was significantly (p < 0.001) reduced from 53.3% to 34.4% after the intervention. The most prominent risk factors were low serum HDL-C and high serum TRG levels followed by obesity (WC). After the intervention, the MetS group had significantly improved mean serum glucose (p = 0.013), systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p < 0.001) blood pressure. No significant improvements were observed in the non-MetS group.

Conclusions: The prevalence of MetS is high in black women residing in Qwa-Qwa. Despite the beneficial metabolic effects observed in this study, a relationship between soy protein consumption and MetS risk factors could not statistically be confirmed. However, soy is a source of good-quality protein and is often used in low-income households as a replacement for other more expensive protein sources and the use of soy should not be discontinued as it may have a beneficial effect on MetS and may play a role in preventing MetS. More research is needed in large-scale case-control studies to determine the effect of soy consumption on MetS risk factors.

The full article is available at https://doi.org/10.1080/16070658.2018.1438340

Author Biographies

Wilna Oldewage-Theron, Texas Tech University

Department of Nutritional Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, United States of America and Centre of Sustainable Livelihoods, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Abdulkadir Egal, Vaal University of Technology

Centre of Sustainable Livelihoods, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Published
2019-07-08
How to Cite
Oldewage-Theron, W., & Egal, A. (2019). The effect of consumption of soy foods on metabolic syndrome in women: a case study from peri-urban Qwa-Qwa, South Africa. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32(2), 11-16. Retrieved from http://sajcn.redbricklibrary.com/index.php/SAJCN/article/view/1403
Section
Original Research