Comparison of Two Types of Diets on Losing Weight and Lipid Profile of Overweight/Obese Middle-Aged Women Under Exercise Condition

A popular dieting guide for the weight loss is the negative-calorie diet; even so, there is still little knowledge about this method. The present study aimed to determine the effects of negative-calorie diet supplemented with exercise, on the weight loss and lipid profile, and to compare its efficiency with low-calorie diet with exercise among middle-aged overweight women. This was a randomized study (the CONSORT statement) carried out at Ukrainian Center of Sports Medicine (Kiev-2012). Participants (n = 66) included sedentary overweight or obese women (age 45-64 years). They were randomly divided into two groups: negative calorie diet with exercise, and low-calorie diet with exercise. Out of all 66 participants, 60 persons completed the study period (three months). The weight parameters, including change in weight and body composition, and blood sample tests were assessed pre- and post-intervention for all subjects and compared to each other. P ˂ 0.05 was considered significant. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 19.0 for windows). All parameters changed significantly in both groups. Reduction in total cholesterol (P ˂ 0.05) and LDL-cholesterol (P ˂ 0.05) as well as raising HDL-cholesterol level (P ˂ 0.002) were different between the two groups. Decline of the total cholesterol to HDL-cholesterol ratio was similar in both groups. It seems that the concept of negative-calorie lacks any validity and application. Contrary to expectation, efficacy of both weight-loss diets was the same.