"We often use VLCD in the form of a low calorie powder as part of the treatment of obese patients with a serious comorbidity, such as sleep apnoea," says Ms Johansson. "The powder is mixed with water and replaces every meal of the day, which gives a rapid loss of weight. It's also a good way of boosting the patients' motivation."

The researchers stress that the VLCD diet is not a general solution to weight problems, but something mainly to be used in the first phase of a long-term treatment programme. To keep the weight off, patients need to work hard to improve their dietary and exercise habits, usually with the aid of a long-term behaviour modification programme. Drugs can also be used in the post-weight loss phase to further improve weight loss maintenance.

The current study was part funded by Cambridge Manufacturing Company Limited, which markets the Cambridge Diet, the low-calorie powder used in the study. The company had no influence on the study, the analyses or the collation of the results. Examples of similar VLCD products marketed by other companies are Nutrilett, Naturdiet and Allevo. The researchers who conducted the study work at the Obesity Unit, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, and the Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Karolinska Institutet.

SOURCE Karolinska Institutet