Objective: To investigate the effect of including seafood and fish oils, as part of an energy-restricted diet, on weight loss in young overweight adults. Design: Randomized controlled trial of energy-restricted diet varying in fish and fish oil content was followed for 8 weeks. Subjects were randomized to one of four groups: (1) control (sunflower oil capsules, no seafood); (2) lean fish (3  150 g portions of cod/week); (3) fatty fish (3  150 g portions of salmon/week); (4) fish oil (DHA/EPA capsules, no seafood). The macronutrient composition of the diets was similar between the groups and the capsule groups, were single-blinded. Subjects: A total of 324 men and women aged 20-40 years, BMI 27.5-32.5 kg/m 2 from Iceland, Spain and Ireland. Measurements: Anthropometric data were collected at baseline, midpoint and endpoint. Confounding factors were accounted for, with linear models, for repeated measures with two-way interactions. The most important interactions for weight loss were (diet  energy intake), (gender  diet) and (gender  initial-weight). Results: An average man in the study (95 kg at baseline receiving 1600 kcal/day) was estimated to lose 3.55 kg (95% CI, 3.14-3.97) (1); 4.35 kg (95% CI, 3.94-4.75) (2); 4.50 kg (95% CI, 4.13-4.87) (3) and 4.96 kg (95% CI, 4.53-5.40) on diet (4) in 4 weeks, from baseline to midpoint. The weight-loss from midpoint to endpoint was 0.45 (0.41-0.49) times the observed weight loss from baseline to midpoint. The diets did not differ in their effect on weight loss in women. Changes in measures of body composition were in line with changes in body weight. Conclusion: In young, overweight men, the inclusion of either lean or fatty fish, or fish oil as part of an energy-restricted diet resulted in B1 kg more weight loss after 4 weeks, than did a similar diet without seafood or supplement of marine origin. The addition of seafood to a nutritionally balanced energy-restricted diet may boost weight loss.

No abstract

Weight-loss maintenance after following an energy-restricted diet is a major problem that a number of studies are trying to characterise. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of IL-6 -174G . C and PPAR-g2 Pro12Ala variants on weight regulation in obese subjects receiving a low-energy diet and at 1 year after the acute slimming period. Sixty-seven volunteers (age 34·7 (SD 7·0) years; BMI 35·8 (SD 4·8) kg/m 2 ) were enrolled in a 10-week dietary intervention and were contacted again 1 year after the end of this period. Body composition was measured at three times during the study. Also, PPAR-g2 Pro12Ala and IL-6 -174G . C polymorphisms were analysed in the participants. No statistical differences were observed depending on the genetic variants at baseline for anthropometric variables, or after the intervention. However, the C allele of the -174G . C IL-6 gene polymorphism was more frequently observed (P¼ 0·032) in subjects with successful weight maintenance (,10 % weight regain). In fact, the C allele partially protected against weight regain (odds ratio 0·24; P¼0·049), while the conjoint presence of both gene variants (C þ and Ala þ ) further improved the ability for weight maintenance (odds ratio 0·19; P¼0·043). The present study demonstrates that the C allele of the -174G . C polymorphism gives protection against regain of weight lost. Moreover, the presence of the Ala allele of the PPARg-2 together with the C allele strengthens this protection. These findings support a role for these polymorphisms on weight regulation and suggest a synergetic effect of both variants on weight maintenance after following a diet to lose weight.

Obesity is a chronic disorder caused by an imbalance of the energy metabolism with high associated burdens. Therefore, huge efforts are being currently devoted in studying new types of hypoenergetic diets and their composition, in order to characterise more specific, long-lasting and safe slimming protocols. A number of investigations are trying to determine the specific influence of the macronutrient distribution in energy-restricted diets on the management of excessive body weight. In this context, very-low-energy diets supplying between 1670 and 3350 kJ (400 and 800 kcal)/d have been beneficial in short-term treatments causing a weight loss of 300-500 g/d. Such strategies place more emphasis on energy restriction than on the macronutrient composition of the diet prescription. Weight loss produced by either low-carbohydrate or low-fat moderately energy-restricted diets ranges from 0·5 to 1·0 kg/week, while diets with high or moderately high protein content have also been applied in weight-reducing programmes by inducing losses of 0·2-0·4 kg/week. Other factors that determine weight loss by dieting are sex, age, initial body weight, race, genetics, regional fat deposition, etc, which must be taken into account to explain the variability in the outcomes of different low-energy diets. Therefore, more research is needed about the impact of diets with different fuel substrates and foods on the characteristics of the weight-loss process.

Different lactic acid bacteria have often been administered as a dietary means to enhance immune system activity. Based on this statement, the aim of the current work was to test the effects of a Lactobacillus casei DN114001 fermented milk consumption on the immune response capacity in middle-age volunteers. Forty-five healthy volunteers, 24 women and 21 men (aged: 51-58 years), were randomized into two groups to receive three cups per day of a L. casei DN114001 (10(8)-10(10) ufc/g) fermented milk (n = 23), or placebo (n = 22), during an 8-week period. Measurements were performed before (day 0), and after the nutritional intervention (day 56). After the trial, no changes in immune cell proportions were detected, but the probiotic-treated group increased oxidative burst capacity of monocytes (probiotic group: p = 0.029; placebo group: p = 0.625), as well as NK cells tumoricidal activity (probiotic group: p = 0.023; placebo group: p = 0.125). Results showed that daily intake of fermented milk containing Lactobacillus casei DN114001 could have a positive effect in modulating the innate immune defense in healthy-middle-age people.