Long-Term Effects of Low-Calorie Diet on the Metabolic Syndrome in Obese Nondiabetic Patients

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increas-ing among western populations,bringing about a parallel rise in the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (1), which is strictly related to overweight (2). There is full agreement that lifestyle changes primarily focused on weight re-duction are the first-line approach to pa-tients with themetabolic syndrome (3). In short-term trials, even a modest weight reduction has been shown to favorably af-fect the components of the metabolic syn-drome such as hypertension, lipid abnormalities, and glycemic control (4– 8). The long-term effects of weight loss on the cluster of factors that comprise the metabolic syndrome have been studied in