Compliance assessment
Participants were instructed to complete 3 day quantitative food diaries, with food type and weight, cooking method, condiments used and meal timing, every other week of the trial. At each visit, food diaries were handed to study dietitians for compliance monitoring and assessment of the followed diet characteristics. Energy intake, macronutrient content and daily distribution of carbohydrates were determined independently by two investigators using the Italian Food Composition Tables of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics. If estimations differed by ≥20%, a third investigator repeated the assessment to resolve any dispute.