Prevention Strategy for Metabolic Complications of Obesity in Patients of Working Age: A Non-Randomized Clinical Trial
Abstract
Background
Standard diets are widely used for body weight correction in obesity, but their effect on body composition, particularly on skeletal muscle mass, remains a subject of study, especially in working-age patients.
Aim
To conduct a hygienic assessment of the effect of various standard diet options (the basic and reduced-calorie variants) on body composition and biochemical parameters in working-age patients with obesity.
Methods
The study included 200 patients (139 women and 61 men) with class I–III obesity aged 40 to 59 years. The median age was 51.0 (47.0; 55.0) years. Body composition parameters were assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and serum biochemical parameters were measured before and after a 10–12-day course of standard diet therapy (women received the reduced-calorie standard diet, men received the basic standard diet). Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0 with the Wilcoxon test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Data are presented as Me (Q1; Q3). Differences were considered significant at p 0.05.
Results
During the 10–12-day course of diet therapy, a significant reduction in fat mass (2.0%, p 0.001), total body water (2.4%, p 0.001), and skeletal muscle mass (2.3%, p 0.001) was observed. The reduction in skeletal muscle mass was comparable in magnitude to the reduction in fat mass and was accompanied by a decrease in total body water, reflecting loss of the fat-free body component. The biochemical profile showed decreases in total cholesterol (8.1%, p 0.001), low-density lipoproteins (6.8%, p 0.001), triglycerides (6.8%, p = 0.007), and urea (8.1%, p = 0.001). Sex-specific analysis revealed that skeletal muscle loss was 2.7% in men and 1.8% in women.
Conclusion
The use of standard hypocaloric diets in working-age patients with obesity improves the lipid profile and reduces fat mass, but is accompanied by skeletal muscle loss, which is more pronounced in men.