The perfect diet resulting in successful and considerable weight loss is based upon a decrease in caloric intake relative to energy expenditure. The question of whether the macronutrient composition of hypo caloric weight loss diets plays an essential role in the efficiency of these diets has not been determined so far.
Total body insulin sensitivity (Si) is a measure of the capability of insulin of controlling glucose uptake and metabolism. People who are insulin resistant (IR) need much higher than normal levels of insulinemia to sustain normal glycemia. Hence, either fasting or postprandial hyperinsulinemia prevents the expansion of impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes until an insulin secretory defect becomes evident. The specialists are of the opinion that there may be a connection between the state of Si and a person’s response to macronutrient composition of a hypocaloric diet. In order to scrutinize this probable relationship, a working hypothesis that macronutrient composition of a hypo caloric diet (daily deficit of 400 kcal) might be a relevant variable in the effectiveness of this diet in people with differing levels of Si as investigated. In addition, it was hypothesized that in the insulin sensitive (IS) persons, insulin endorses better use of dietary CHO’s, probably through increased dietary greater weight loss in the IS group on a high-CHO (HC) hypo caloric diet. On the contrary, IR persons may reveal a less significant response to an HC diet and respond better to an LC hypocaloric diet.
The research was designed to investigate these hypotheses. Twenty-one obese nondiabetic female participants were recruited to take part in this research and were segregated into IS or IR groups based upon their fasting insulinemia. Subjects in each group were randomly assigned to obtain either an HC/low-fat (LF) or an LC/high-fat (HF) energy-matched hypo caloric diet for sixteen weeks. The HC/LF diet was 60 per cent CHO, 20 per cent fat and 20 per cent protein, whereas the LC/HF diet was 40 per cent CHO, 40 per cent fat, and 20 per cent protein. Primary outcome variables comprised changes both in body weight (BW) and changes in Si and lipids. Both energy intake and resting energy expenditure were measured before and after the dietary intervention, to evaluate the mechanism of weight loss under these conditions.
Insulin-sensitive women on the HC/LF diet lost 13.5 + 1.2% (p < 0.001) of their primary BW, while, those on the LC/HF diet lost 6.8 + 1.2% (p < 0.001;p < 0.002 between groups). Among the insulin-resistant women, those on the LC/HF diet lost 13.4 + 1.3% (p < 0.001) of their initial BW, in comparison with 8.5 [+ or -] 1.4% (p < 0.001) lost by those on the HC/LF diet (p < 0.04 between two groups). These dissimilarities were not explained by changes in resting metabolic rate, activity, or intake. Generally, alterations in Si were connected with the degree of weight loss (r = -0.57, p < 0.05).
In this little group of participants, the state of Si determined the effectiveness of macronutrient composition of hypocaloric diets for the treatment of obesity. Further scrutiny is necessary. If these results are acknowledge in additional, larger research, it could have great implications for adjusting weight loss interventions.
