ABO blood group and diet prescription for weight loss

Abstract

The ABO blood group phenotype has been related to risk of myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes mellitus, but there is no evidence that ABO blood group influences diet prescription for effective weight loss. We examined retrospectively whether ABO blood group was associated with weight loss potential on high-protein (HP), calorie-restricted diets. Healthy, overweight subjects (n=11 blood group O; n=7 blood group A) consumed experimental diets composed of common foods including meat (HP: ~30% energy from protein and 30–55% energy from fat) for 6 weeks in tightly controlled feeding trials. Body mass and metabolic indices were measured at weeks 0 and 6. At baseline, body mass (95±6 [mean±SE] and 94±11 kg), fat mass (38±4 and 39±8 kg), LDL cholesterol (133±8 and 129±14 mg/dL), and fasting insulin (23±1 and 25±5 mU/L) did not vary by blood group (O and A respectively). However, fasting glucose tended to be higher in blood group O versus A (98±3 versus 91±2 mg/dL; p=0.065). After 6 weeks of diet adherence, mean body mass was reduced significantly in both blood groups (−6%), and mean blood indices were favorably affected in all subjects: LDL cholesterol was reduced 6% (p=0.612) and 16% (p=0.027), and fasting insulin was reduced 20% (p=0.087) and 25% (p=0.031) in blood groups O and A respectively. These data suggest that HP diets are effective for weight loss and healthy outcomes in overweight individuals with either the O or A blood group phenotype. These data do not support the contention of a popular diet book that individuals with the A blood group phenotype should adhere to low-protein, vegetarian diets for health and weight management. This research was supported in part by the Inflammation Research Foundation and the Gustavus and Louise Pfeiffer Foundation.