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

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increasing 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 reduction are the first-line approach to patients with the metabolic syndrome (3). In short-term trials, even a modest weight reduction has been shown to favorably affect the components of the metabolic syndrome 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 both overweight (9) and mildly obese (10) patients. We report here the extent to which a 2-year treatment program with a low-calorie, low-fat diet altered components of the metabolic syndrome in obese, nondiabetic patients presenting with the syndrome. The local ethics committee reviewed and approved the study, and each eligible participant gave written informed consent. We enrolled 41 patients (30 women and 11 men, age 58.7 ± 11.27 years [means ± SD]) with the metabolic syndrome as diagnosed according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) (2). The inclusion criteria were age >18 years, BMI ≥30 kg/m2, and a willingness to adhere to the prescribed diet. The exclusion criteria …