OBJECTIVES The insulin-mimetic adipocytokine visfatin has been related to obesity. The aim of this study was to examine whether weight loss could change visfatin concentrations in morbidly obese patients and its relationship with insulin resistance. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was an interventional study analyzing a population of 41 morbidly obese patients. A biochemical analysis was realized b...

OBJECTIVE The investigation of the association between retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) and lipoproteins in subjects with hypertriglyceridemia. DESIGN Forty-six obese or overweight hypertriglyceridemic patients were studied at baseline and 20 of them underwent a hypocaloric low-fat diet for 3 months. RESULTS Plasma RBP4 levels were positively correlated with serum triglycerides (TG) in the ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Cocoa flavanols are recognised by their favourable antioxidant and vascular effects. This study investigates the influence on health of the daily consumption of ready-to-eat meals supplemented with cocoa extract within a hypocaloric diet, on middle-aged overweight/obese subjects. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifty healthy male and female middle-aged volunteers [57.26 ± 5.24 years a...

We studied the effects of a hypocaloric diet (D, n = 24, age: 32.2 +/- 1.4 yr, body mass index: 34.7 +/- 0.5 kg/m2) and a hypocaloric diet associated with exercise training (D + T, n = 25, age: 32.3 +/- 1.3 yr, body mass index: 32.9 +/- 0.4 kg/m2) on muscle metaboreflex control, muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, microneurography), blood pressure, and forearm blood flow (plethysmography) ...

BACKGROUND Increased consumption of nuts has been advocated because of their health benefits, but the role of nuts in the treatment of obesity is unclear given their high energy density. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to evaluate the effects of a hypocaloric, almond-enriched diet (AED) compared with a hypocaloric nut-free diet (NFD) on body weight and cardiovascular disease risk factors in...

BACKGROUND Dietary advice is one of the cornerstones in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The American Diabetes Association recommended a hypocaloric diet for overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes in order to induce weight loss. However, there is limited evidence on the optimal approaches to control hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients. The aim of the present study is t...

We previously reported that a carbohydrate-restricted diet (CRD) ameliorated many of the traditional markers associated with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk compared with a low-fat diet (LFD). There remains concern how CRD affects vascular function because acute meals high in fat have been shown to impair endothelial function. Here, we extend our work and address these concerns by me...

UNLABELLED Lifestyle changes such as following a hypocaloric diet and regular physical exercise are recognized as effective non-pharmacological interventions to reduce body fat mass and prevent cardiovascular disease risk factors. PURPOSE To evaluate the interactions of a higher protein (HP) vs. a lower protein (LP) diet with or without a concomitant progressive resistance training program (R...