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Background: Identifying new ways to decrease adiposity have great importance for human health. We aimed to find out whether l – arginine (Arg) and selenium alone or together can increase the effect of hypocaloric diet enriched in legumes (HDEL) on anthropometric measures in healthy women with central obesity. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken in 84 healthy premenopausal women with central obesity. After 2 wk of run - in on an isocaloric diet, participants were randomly considered to eat HDEL, Arg (5 gr / d) and HDEL, selenium (200 µg / d) and HDEL or Arg, selenium and HDEL for 6 wk. The following variables were assessed before intervention and 3 and 6 wk after it: weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), and fasting nitrite / nitrate (NOx) concentrations. Other variables were assessed before and after intervention including: arm, thigh, calf and breast circumferences, subscapular, triceps, biceps and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses, sum of skinfold thicknesses (SSF), body density (D) and estimated percent of body fat (EPF). Findings: HDEL showed a significant effect in reduction of waist, hip, arm, thigh, calf and breast circumferences, triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses, WHR, SSF, D and EPF. HDEL + Arg + selenium significantly reduced suprailiac skinfold thicknesses. HDEL, Arg, selenium and Arg plus selenium had not significant effect on weight, BMI and fasting NOx. Conclusion: The study indicates that control diet with HDEL + Arg + selenium reduce suprailiac skinfold thicknesses which represents as reduction of abdominal obesity.