Welcome to Weight Loss Diet - Information on Metabolic Research Center for Weight Loss

Almost 25 percent of US adults suffer from hypertension, and many of these individuals are overweight or obese.

The Framingham Study found that the prevalence of hypertension in obese individuals was twice that of individuals of normal weight, across all ages in men and women. While the association between hypertension and obesity, is well documented, the exact mechanisms linking obesity with hypertension are still not well understood. The current study assessed whether the type of dietary fat (Fatty Acids, FA) consumed would affect the magnitude of the BP reduction during and following a 10-week hypocaloric diet intervention.

The subjects (34 females/18 males) had their BP and eye grounds checked at least weekly during the course of the study. Phase 1 was a one-week Clinical Research Center (CRC) inpatient baseline period, used for data collection. Phase 2 consisted of a 10-week weight loss period. Each subject was randomized into one of three calorie-restricted diets (1200 kcal/day for women, 1800 kcal/day for men). Each diet contained 18 percent protein, 32 percent fat and 50 percent carbohydrate, differing only in the composition of the dietary, fat component. Phase 3 was an outpatient weight maintenance phase where each subject aimed to maintain their weight loss for four weeks. For each subject, the weight maintenance diet was ideal in FA composition to the hypocaloric diet. but higher in total caloric energy.

Subjects lost 9-10 percent of initial body weight over the 10-week hypocaloric diet period, and maintained that weight loss over the subsequent four weeks. The amount of weight loss was similar among different FA groups. The majority of the weight loss was body fat in all groups. but for subjects fed with omega-3 enriched diet, a lower but not significant proportion of weight loss came from fat free mass (FFM) than occurred with the other groups. Waist circumference declined by 6-9 percent in all groups, with no significant effect of the type of dietary fat intervention.

Weight loss resulted in substantial improvements in blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and lipid profile. There was no additional effect on the reduction in blood pressure by the type of FA consumed in the diet. Following weight loss, there was a trend for omega-3 FAs to have a protective effect on fat-free mass loss (compared to omega-6 FA Group and saturated FA Group) and had a trend to further enhance insulin sensitivity. There were significant improvements in circulating lipid profiles independent of the dietary, FA intervention following the weight loss. The improvements in BP and body composition were maintained during the weight-loss maintenance phase. These results provide strong support for modest weight loss as treatment for hypertension.

A Kriketos, RM Robertson, T Sharp, H Drougas, G Reed. L Storlien. J Hill. Role of weight loss and polyunsaturated fatty acids in improving metabolic fitness in moderately obese, moderately hypertensive subjects, J Hypertens 19(10): 1745-1754 (October 2001) [Correspondence: Dr. James O Hill, PhD, Center for Human Nutrition, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center; Campus Box c-225, 4200 East Ninth Avenue, Denver, CO 80262]