Table 1 Characteristics of study participants across categories of low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) score*

Number of participants

946

1018

920

963

Number of participants with MetS

282

327

231

246

Age (year)

45.0 (40.0–51.0)

46.0 (40.0–52.0)

46.0 (40.0–52.0)

46.0 (40.0–52.0)

0.381

BMI (kg/m²)

26.6 (23.3–29.8)

26.8 (23.8–29.9)

26.8 (24.1–29.9)

27.3 (24.6–30.4)

0.003

Physical activity

1.5 (1.4–1.7)

1.5 (1.4–1.7)

1.6 (1.4–1.7)

1.6 (1.4–1.7)

0.411

Female (%)

53.1

54.1

54.4

61.2

0.001

Married (%)

94.9

93.5

94.0

95.5

0.330

Education (university graduated) (%)

6.2

9.2

15.0

15.0

< 0.001

Current smokers (%)

30.6

22.4

20.8

15.3

< 0.001