Indigent Patients at California Clinic Use Meal Replacement Plan for Two Meals Per Day
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--October 13, 2003--Obese indigent patients � a group that typically has extreme difficulty losing weight � decreased their body weight by 7 percent on average and reduced body mass index (BMI) by 7.5 percent in a six-month study using the Slim-Fast
meal replacement plan. Study results were presented at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO).
Besides using two meal replacements and a sensible reduced-calorie meal daily for the first three months, all study participants were instructed to consume two or three snacks of fruits and vegetables per day. Throughout the remaining three-month period, individuals were instructed to replace one daily meal with a Slim-Fast with Soy meal replacement and eat reduced-calorie meals and snacks as needed.
�Meal replacements are a well-designed approach to weight management, which provides a healthy meal with the calories counted for you,� said Sergio Huerta MD, former fellow at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who initiated the nutritional program at the Venice Family Clinic. �This study shows that, when a weight management plan is both sensible and sustainable, significant weight loss is possible, even in a situation where weight management can be extremely difficult.�
In an earlier six-month phase of the study that did not include the Slim-Fast plan, the same patients had been unable to achieve significant weight loss even though they received guidance from a physician on weight management.
The study focused on indigent patients who are disproportionately affected by obesity and often have difficulty losing weight and sustaining weight loss. All study participants received routine health care at The Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles. Seventy-two percent of the patients in the study were Hispanic.
The study participants were at extremely high risk for health problems or fatality due to high obesity. Using Slim-Fast products, the average BMI of patients was reduced from 40 to 37. A significant number of patients had co-morbid conditions that improved during the study, including hypertension (45 percent), type 2 diabetes (50 percent), osteoarthritis (51 percent), and hypercholesterolemia (51 percent).
Slim-Fast Foods Company, headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL, is committed to the development of wholesome and balanced nutritional products to aid in weight management and improved health. The Slim-Fast product line includes an affordable range of shakes, powders, bars, soups, pastas and snacks that are available in retail outlets nationwide. Free weight loss advice and support are available at slimfast.com or through 1-800-SLIM-FAST.