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Intermittent versus on‐demand use of a very low calorie diet: a randomized 2‐year clinical trial
Author(s) -
Lantz H.,
Peltonen M.,
Ågren L.,
Torgerson J. S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2796.2003.01131.x
Subject(s) - medicine , very low calorie diet , randomized controlled trial , weight loss , body mass index , calorie , anthropometry , obesity
. Lantz H, Peltonen M, Ågren L, Torgerson JS (Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden). Intermittent versus on‐demand use of a very low calorie diet: a randomized 2‐year clinical trial. J Intern Med 2003; 253: 463–471. Objectives. To compare two different very low calorie diet (VLCD)‐based weight maintenance strategies. Design and setting. A randomized 2‐year clinical trial performed at the Department of Body Composition and Metabolism, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden. Subjects. A total of 334 patients, body mass index (BMI) >30 kg m −2 , aged 18–60 years. Interventions. All the patients started with 16 VLCD weeks. Subjects in the intermittent group were then scheduled to use VLCD for 2 weeks every third month, whilst patients in the on‐demand group were instructed to use VLCD whenever their body weight passed an individualized cut‐off level. Irrespective of the treatment group, all the subjects were recommended a hypocaloric diet during VLCD‐free periods. Main outcome measures. Changes in body weight, body composition, anthropometric variables and cardiovascular risk factors. Results. Completers in both groups maintained highly significant weight losses after 2 years: 7.0 ± 11.0 kg (6.2 ± 9.5%) in the intermittent group and 9.1 ± 9.7 kg (7.7 ± 8.1%) in the on‐demand group ( P < 0.001, ns between groups). Male completers in the on‐demand group lost significantly more weight than men in the intermittent group, 14.5 ± 11.0 kg vs. 4.0 ± 10.5 kg, respectively ( P < 0.01). Most cardiovascular risk factors improved during the first year, whilst anthropometric measures, insulin, HDL‐ and LDL‐cholesterol were also significantly improved after 2 years of treatment. Conclusion. Clinically significant weight reductions were achieved after 2 years of VLCD‐based treatment. The structure of VLCD treatment during the maintenance phase did not affect weight loss in the total study population, whilst male subjects might benefit from the VLCD on‐demand strategy.