Efficacy and Safety of a High Protein, Low Carbohydrate Diet for Weight Loss in Severely Obese Adolescents
Received 7 August 2009; received in revised form 16 December 2009; accepted 5 February 2010. published online 22 March 2010.
Refers to article:
New Safety Data on the High-Protein–Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Adolescents
, 07 June 2010
Miriam Vos
The Journal of Pediatrics
August 2010 (Vol. 157, Issue 2, Pages 184-185) Full Text |
Full-Text PDF (58 KB)
Objective
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a carbohydrate restricted versus a low fat diet on weight loss, metabolic markers, body composition, and cardiac function tests in severely obese adolescents.
Study design
Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 diets: a high protein, low carbohydrate (20 g/d) diet (high protein, low carbohydrate, HPLC) or low fat (30% of calories) regimen for 13 weeks; close monitoring was maintained to evaluate safety. After the intervention, no clinical contact was made until follow-up measurements were obtained at 24 and 36 weeks from baseline. The primary outcome was change in body mass index Z-score for age and sex (BMI-Z) at 13, 24, and 36 weeks.
Results
Forty-six subjects (24 HPLC, 22 in low fat) initiated and 33 subjects completed the intervention; follow-up data were available on approximately half of the subjects. Significant reduction in (BMI-Z) was achieved in both groups during intervention and was significantly greater for the HPLC group (P = .03). Both groups maintained significant BMI-Z reduction at follow-up; changes were not significantly different between groups. Loss of lean body mass was not spared in the HPLC group. No serious adverse effects were observed related to metabolic profiles, cardiac function, or subjective complaints.
Conclusions
The HPLC diet is a safe and effective option for medically supervised weight loss in severely obese adolescents.
Department of Pediatrics, Section of Nutrition, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO
Correspondence to: Dr Nancy F. Krebs, University of Colorado Denver, 12700 East 19th Avenue, Box C225, Aurora, CO 80045.
Supported by the Pediatric Clinical Translational Research Center (RR00069), NIH (K24-RR018357-01, T32 DK07658), and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
ABSTRACT