Investigating the Effects of Negative Calorie Diet Compared with Low-Calorie Diet on Weight Loss and Lipid Profile in Sedentary Overweight / Obese Middle-Aged and Older Men

Objectives: Negative-calorie diet (NCD) is among the popular dieting guides for weight loss; however, there is still little knowledge about this method. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of negative-calorie diet on weight loss and lipid profile, and to compare its efficiency with low-calorie diet (LCD). Design and Setting: Randomized study (the CONSORT statement) at the Ukrainian Center for Sports Medicine, Kiev, Ukraine Subjects: Sedentary men (aged 45 - 75 years) who were overweight or obese (n = 104) Interventions: The patients were randomly divided into two groups: NCD, and LCD. Out of 104 participants, 90 persons completed the treatment. Main Outcome Measures: The weight assessment parameters including change in body weight, total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were performed pre- and post-intervention for all subjects and compared to each other. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Our results showed significant differences with respect to all parameters between pre- and post-intervention in both the groups. Reduction in TC (p < 0.05) and HDL-C level (p < 0.003) were different between the two groups. There was no change in the TC to HDL-C ratio in weight loss of the NCD but weight loss performed by the LCD typically reduces the TC to HDL-C ratio. Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, both experimental groups showed a similar pattern of weight loss. The influence of NCD on lipid profile had no advantage as compared to the low-calorie diet.