Zeitschrift für Adipositas- und Gewichtsverlusttherapie

Abstrakt

Diet Therapy of Obesity: Observations on the Usefulness of Weekly Supervision in the Improvement of Weight Loss

Teresa Esposito, Anna Napoleone, Salvetore Allocca, Bruno Varriale and Marcellino Monda

Background and aims: Obesity, a condition born in the rich countries of the West, is rising in the rest of the world. The developing countries are adopting the eating habits and the lifestyle of the rich countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, on obese subjects, the effect of a diet therapy with weekly control with respect to the effect of the same monthly check, as by traditional protocol. Methods: Forty patients with first degree of obesity were treated with hypocaloric diet therapy for 6 months with weekly checks, while other 40 patients were treated with the same diet therapy but with monthly control. Examination has allowed to assess nutritional status, to estimate body composition and provide guidance for the calculation of individual nutrient needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of nutritional therapy. The analysis of the parameters was carried out mainly through the survey of the body data changes as per protocol. Moreover, taking advantage of the BIA (Bio-impedance) we were able to follow the trend of the effectiveness of the diet regimen in both groups. Results: The slimming of the weekly control group resulted 63% greater than the monthly control group. In both men and women the weekly check produces significant differences by increasing the effects of diet therapy treatment. Reaching statistical significance not only for the decrease in body weight but also for the majority of BIA parameters considered in our analysis. Conclusion: The results, thus obtained, indicate that the weekly monitoring can improve the “compliance” of the patient in diet therapy.