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

Abstract Background and aims: Meal replacement (MR) diets consist of replacing one or more meals with an artificial nutritional supplement. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a MR diet on weight reduction, biochemical parameters, and Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in patients with obesity. Methods A real-world study with one arm was designed with a hypocaloric diet modified with a nutritional supplement for two phases. The first phase consisted of the replacement of one meal for 12 weeks; and the second phase the reintroduction of foods following a low-calorie diet with moderate limitation of caloric intake over basal requirements (− 300 to − 500 calories per day) during a further 12 weeks. Anthropometric evaluation and biochemical measurements were performed at initiation of the study; at 12 weeks; and at 24 weeks. Results We recruited 364 patients with obesity. The mean age was 45.6 ± 3.5 years. There were 100 males (27.5%) and 264 females (72.5%) enrolled. We observed significant improvements at both 12 weeks and 24 weeks in body weight, BMI, fat mass, waist circumference, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, and frequencies of (MS, central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, hypertension, and hyperglycaemia). The odds ratio of improved frequencies of MS after Phase 2 (24 weeks) was 0.66 (95% CI = 0.49–0.90; p = 0.03). The number needed to treat with MR diet was 10.17 patients for the resolution of one case of MS (95% CI 6.15–41.2; p = 0.02). Conclusions In patients with obesity, those who replaced one meal showed a significant decrease in weight and fat mass with a secondary improvement in metabolic parameters. A significant decrease in the percentage of patients with MS was also observed.