Meal Replacements for Managing Weight Loss
In a multi-center randomized control trial that include 5,1457 participants with overweight or obesity, participants in the highest quartile who had meal replacements as part of their intervention were four times more likely to achieve a seven percent and a 10 percent weight loss compared to those in the lowest quartile at the one-year mark.
In weeks 1 and 2 of this study,7 participants ate a typical diet and kept a food journal and caloric intake journal. For patients <250 pounds (114 kg) the energy goal was 1,200 – 1,500 kcal/day and for those ³250 pounds (114 kg), the energy goal was 1,500 – 1,800 kcal/day. During weeks 3 – 19, participants replaced breakfast and lunch with a meal replacement, and one snack with a bar. Participants consumed conventional food at dinner time, and throughout the day they consumed fruits and vegetables to ensure their daily caloric needs were met. During months 7 – 12, participants replaced one meal with a meal replacement and one snack with a bar or shake. During this period, the focus was on consuming more fruits and vegetables as well other low energy foods. In addition to the meal replacement intervention, participants were instructed to reach ³ 175 min/week of moderate intensity exercise by month 6 and ³ 200 min/week by month 12.
At the end of one year, patients lost 8.6 ± 6.9 percent of their starting weight compared to an observed weight loss of 0.7 ± 4.8 percent in the diabetes support education group. Participants in the meal replacement intervention group lost 8.2±5.7 percent, on average, at the midway point (week 26). Adherence was also a contributing factor, with participants in the intervention group attentind 35.4±7.3 precent of 42 group and individual meeting sessions.