Real-world study of 24 weeks to assess the effect of a partial meal replacement program on metabolic syndrome and its components in adult patients with obesity.

Background: meal replacement (MR) diets consist of replacing one or more meals. The objective was to evaluate the effect of a MR diet on weight reduction and metabolic syndrome (MS).

Methods: a real-world study was designed with a MR diet. The first phase consisted of the replacement of one meal (12 weeks); and the second phase the reintroduction of foods following a low-calorie diet (-300 to -500 calories per day) (12 weeks). Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were performed at initiation of the study; 12 and 24 weeks.

Results: the mean age was 45.6 ± 3.5 years (n = 364). There were 100 males (27.5 %) and 264 females (72.5 %) enrolled. We observed significant improvements at 12 weeks and 24 weeks in body weight, BMI, fat mass, waist circumference, serum triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and frequencies of (MS, central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and hyperglycaemia). The odds ratio of MS after phase 2 (24 weeks) was 0.66 (95 % CI = 0.49-0.90; p = 0.03). The number needed to treat was 10.17 patients for the resolution of one MS (95 % CI 6.15-41.2; p = 0.02).

Conclusions: in patients with obesity, those MR diet decreased in weight and fat mass with a secondary improvement in metabolic parameters.