Efficacy of a Meal-Replacement Program for Promoting Blood Lipid Changes and Weight and Body Fat Loss in US Army Soldiers

Abstract

Excess weight is associated with negative health outcomes. Meal replacements are effective in promoting favorable body composition changes in civilian populations, however, their efficacy with military service members who have unique lifestyles is unknown. The objective of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the efficacy of the Army's education-based, weight-management program, "Weigh to Stay," with and without meal replacements for improving blood lipids and to promote weight and body fat loss in overweight U.S. Army soldiers. Soldiers (n=113; 76 males/37 females) attending Weigh to Stay at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2006-2007 were randomly assigned to Weigh to Stay only or to a commercially available meal replacement program (two meal replacements per day) combined with Weigh to Stay, and followed until Army body fat standards were met, or for 6 months if standards were not met. Study completers (n=46) in both treatment groups lost weight (Weigh to Stay: -2.7 +/- 4.3 kg; meal replacers: -3.8 +/- 3.5 kg) and fat mass (Weigh to Stay, -2.7 +/- 3.2 kg; meal replacers: -2.9 +/- 2.5 kg), and improved high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations (Weigh to Stay: 13 +/- 9 mg/dL [0.34 +/- 0.23 mmol/L]; meal replacers: 8 +/- 7 mg/dL [0.21 +/- 0.18 mmol/L]; P < 0.05); however, no between-group differences were observed. Attrition was lower (P=0.009) and success in meeting body fat standards tended to be higher (P=0.06) for the meal replacers versus Weigh to Stay participants. Intent-to-treat analysis demonstrated that meal replacers lost more weight (1.2 +/- 0.5 kg), percent body fat (1.0% +/- 0.4%), and fat mass (0.8 +/- 0.4 kg) compared to Weigh to Stay volunteers (P < 0.05). The findings suggest that meal replacement can be recommended as a potential adjunct strategy to Weigh to Stay.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA519280

Entities

People

  • Andrew J Young
  • Gaston P. Bathalon
  • J. P. Karl
  • Lori D. Sigrist
  • Susan Mcgraw
  • Tracey J. Smith

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Attrition
  • Body Composition
  • Body Weight
  • Civilian Population
  • Education
  • Food
  • Food Preparation
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Meals
  • Military Research
  • Overweight
  • Risk Factors
  • Spreadsheet Software
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

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  • Gender and Food Studies
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