The Influence of a Meal Replacement Formula on Leptin Regulation in Obese Adults

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obese adults warrants improved dietary strategies for weight management and metabolic control. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a high-protein diet on leptin regulation. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data collected from a randomized controlled trial, conducted in 90 overweight adults (age: 47.5 ± 7.5 yrs.; BMI: 31.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2) who were followed over a 24-week control period. Changes in leptin levels were quantified to determine the influence of age, gender, leptin baseline levels, weight loss and intervention type. Participants were randomized into 3 interventions groups: 1) therapeutic lifestyle changes, (LS); 2) standardized meal replacement (Almased®) (MR); and 3) standardized meal replacement accompanied by supervised physical training (MRPT). For the analyses, both diet groups (MR, MRPT) were pooled into one common group and compared to the LS group in a parallel two-group study design with endpoint assessment after 24 weeks of intervention. Results: In total, 83 participants completed the 24-week study. Significant improvements in body composition and metabolic regulation occurred in all intervention participants regardless of their group assignment (LS; MR, MRPT). Participants’ consumption of the meal replacement (MR; MRPT) had an independent, significant effect on serum leptin levels (-15.5 ± 7.5 and -12.5 ± 7.8 vs. -8.7 ± 6.1 ng/ml). Greater body weight reductions were also observed in the diet groups (-8.9 ± 3.9 kg) compared to the LS group (-6.2 ± 4.2 kg). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that meal replacement can safely and effectively produce significant weight loss, which may be in part due to a reduction in plasma leptin levels. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00356785