Results of soy-based meal replacement formula on weight, anthropometry, serum lipids & blood pressure during a 40-week clinical weight loss trial

Ninety overweight/obese (28 < BMI ≤ 41 kg/m2) adults received a single session of dietary counseling and were randomized to either 12 weeks at 1200 kcal/day, 16 weeks at 1500 kcal/d and 12 weeks at 1800 kcal/d (i.e., the 12/15/18 diet group), or 28 weeks at 1500 kcal/d and 12 weeks at 1800 kcal/d (i.e., the 15/18 diet group). Weight, body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure and serum lipid concentrations were measured at 4-week intervals throughout the 40-week trial.Subjects in both treatments showed statistically significant improvements in outcomes. A regression model for weight change suggests that subjects with larger baseline weights tended to lose more weight and subjects in the 12/15/18 group tended to experience, on average, an additional 0.9 kg of weight loss compared with subjects in the 15/18 group.Both treatments using the soy-based meal replacement program were associated with significant and comparable weight loss and improvements on selected health variables.Obesity is a medically serious [1] and increasingly prevalent condition in the United States [2] associated with increased morbidity [3], mortality rate [4], impaired health related quality of life [5] and reduced life expectancy [6]. Although it is uncertain whether intentional weight loss increases longevity [7], it is well documented that losing weight improves health [8] and quality of life [9]. Thus, promoting sustained weight loss remains an important treatment goal for obese individuals. We [10] recently demonstrated that a program involving a soy-based meal replacement formula is effective in lowering weight, fat mass and in reducing LDL cholesterol. Because this study was only a 12-week trial, we could not evaluate the intermediate-term effects of the treatment. The primary purpose of this study reported herein was to conduct a trial to evaluate the intermediate-term changes among subjects on weight and several weight-related variables such as blood pressure and serum lipid concentra