Effects of basic traditional Chinese diet on body mass index, lean body mass, and eating and hunger behaviours in overweight or obese individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of a basic traditional Chinese diet with a Western standard diet on body mass index (BMI), lean body mass (LBD), and eating and hunger behaviours. METHODS: A sample of 284 patients were randomized into 2 groups: group A (n = 142) followed a basic traditional Chinese diet (BCTD) and group B (n = 142) followed a Western standard diet (WSD). Both diets were set at approximately 1200 calories. The patients enrolled were compared before treatment and 6 weeks after treatment, and then follow-ups were made at 1 year and 5 years. RESULTS: In the BCTD group, BMI decreased by 0.46 kg/m2 and LBM by 0.25 kg, versus respectively 0.28 kg/m2 and 0.41 kg in the WSD group. Findings of eating self-assessment, hunger measurement and psychophysical indices of health were also in favour of the BCTD. CONCLUSION: Outcomes show that the BCTD has a better effect on BMI and LBM, as well as over the medium/long term, and provides stronger psychophysical support to obese patients.

Effect of a basic Chinese traditional diet in overweight patients.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a basic Chinese traditional diet (BTCD) in overweight patients on body mass index (BMI), lean mass, sense of hunger, and eating behaviour. METHODS: A total of 694 enrolled subjects (218 male and 476 female) were divided into two groups: group A undergoing a 1200-Kcal BTCD, and group B undergoing a 1200-Kcal standard western diet. RESULTS: From T0 (before treatment) to T1 (6 weeks after treatment), BMI was lowered in group A from (32.33 +/- 5.51) to (31.96 +/- 5.56) kg/m2, and in group B from (31.62 +/- 6.29) to (31.36 +/- 6.47) kg/m2. After treatment, patients in group A lost more weight (0.37 +/- 0.52) kg than group B (0.26 +/- 0.79) kg (P = 0.0044). From T0 to T1, the mean lean mass of group A decreased from (16.48 +/- 5.50) to (16.27 +/- 5.45) kg. In group B, mean lean mass decreased from (16.93 +/- 6.49) to (16.44 +/- 6.29) kg. The difference was significant (P = 0.0078). CONCLUSION: The two diets could lead to lower BMI, improve lean mass as well as eating behaviour and sense of hunger. However, the BTCD was significantly better than the western standard diet.