Upwards of 2,000 overweight participants diagnosed with prediabetes participated in this study who followed a low calorie diet for 8 weeks. According to the researchers their findings showed that male participants had lost significantly more body weight than female participants had, and male participants were found to have had larger decreases in their metabolic syndrome scores, diabetes indicators, fat mass, and heart rate. Female participants were found to have had greater decreases in HDL cholesterol, hip circumference, lean body mass, and pulse pressure than that of the male participants.
Results remained the same even after adjusting for differences in weight loss; male participants appeared to have benefitted more from the low calorie diet intervention than the female participants did. Additional studies are needed to determine whether the differences between sexes will persist long term, and whether different interventions will needed to be designed depending on gender. The study’s 8 week low calorie/energy diet in individuals with prediabetes did result in the initial 10% weight loss required to achieve major metabolic improvement in this phase one of a diabetes prevention programme, explains Dr. Pia Christensen of the University of Copenhagen.
