Healthy Nordic diet downregulates the expression of genes involved in inflammation in subcutaneous adipose tissue in individuals with features of the metabolic syndrome

Background: Previously, a healthy Nordic diet (ND) has been shown to have beneficial health effects close to those of Mediterranean diets.Objective: The objective was to explore whether the ND has an impact on gene expression in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and whether changes in gene expression are associated with clinical and biochemical effects.Design: Obese adults with features of the metabolic syndrome underwent an 18- to 24-wk randomized intervention study comparing the ND with the control diet (CD) (the SYSDIET study, carried out within Nordic Centre of Excellence of the Systems Biology in Controlled Dietary Interventions and Cohort Studies). The present study included participants from 3 Nordic SYSDIET centers [Kuopio (n = 20), Lund (n = 18), and Oulu (n = 18)] with a maximum weight change of ±4 kg, highly sensitive C-reactive protein concentration