The effectiveness of the low energy diet in overweight and obese adults.

BACKGROUND: Excess body weight is one of the most common health and economic problems of the contemporary world. According to the assessments of the World Health Organization (WHO), almost billion adults are overweight and at least 300 million were diagnosed with clinical obesity. Health consequences of overweight are: ischemic heart disease, congestive cardiac failure, hypertension, arteriosclerotic vascular disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, tumours, degenerative joint disease and many more.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the low-energy diet used in the period of 5 months by women and men treated from overweight or obesity in the diet centre.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research included 296 overweight or obese patients, treated in the diet centre: (1) 104 women without co-morbidities, between 18 to 61 years old; (2) 58 women with the accompanying insulin resistance between 19 to 61 years old; (3) 49 women additionally suffering from hypothyroidism, between 19 to 61 years old; (4) 85 men without co-morbidities, between 19 to 62 years old. Treated patients were recommended the use of the low-energy diet, where 20% of energy came from protein, 30% of energy from fat and 50% of energy from carbohydrates. The energy content of the diet was considered to be dependent on the individual daily demand that was estimated taking into consideration the physical activity and that was reduced with 1000 kcal. Patients applied suggested reductive diet for 5 months.

RESULTS: The use of diet in each group brought positive results. In all groups, body fat decreased significantly after 5 months of dietary treatment. It has been shown to increase the average percentage of water content in the body of subjects. There was also an average reduction in total cholesterol, LDL, TG, glucose levels and increasing HDL for each group.

CONCLUSIONS: Diet proceedings consisting in reduced energy value of the diet has a beneficial effect on reducing body mass, metabolic age, reducing BMI and influences the percentage change in body fat, causing its reduction, change in percentage of water content, leading to a slight increase in its levels in the body . In addition, favourably nutritional proceedings influenced the changes in blood levels of lipid indicators, thus reducing risk factors for coronary heart disease.