Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Brunani, Amelia; Cancello, Raffaella; Gobbi, Michele; Lucchetti, Elisa; Di Guglielmo, Giulia; Maestrini, Sabrina; Cattaldo, Stefania; Piterà, Paolo; Ruocco, Chiara; Milesi, Alessandra; Valerio, Alessandra; Capodaglio, Paolo; Nisoli, Enzo

doi:10.3390/jcm12134257

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

by

Amelia Brunani

^1,*

,

Raffaella Cancello

²

,

Michele Gobbi

¹

,

Elisa Lucchetti

¹,

Giulia Di Guglielmo

¹,

Sabrina Maestrini

¹

,

Stefania Cattaldo

¹

,

Paolo Piterà

¹

,

Chiara Ruocco

³

,

Alessandra Milesi

¹,

Alessandra Valerio

⁴

,

Paolo Capodaglio

^1,5

and

Enzo Nisoli

³

¹

IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Piancavallo, 28921 Verbania, Italy

²

Obesity Unit, Department of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Laboratory of Nutrition and Obesity Research, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20100 Milan, Italy

³

Center for Study and Research on Obesity, Department of Biomedical Technology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, 20100 Milan, Italy

⁴

Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, 25121 Brescia, Italy

⁵

Department of Surgical Sciences, Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Torino, 10121 Torino, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(13), 4257; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134257

Submission received: 12 March 2023 / Revised: 18 June 2023 / Accepted: 23 June 2023 / Published: 25 June 2023

(This article belongs to the Collection Obesity: From Diagnosis to Treatment)

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Abstract

Background: Weight loss is associated with a reduction in all body compartments, including muscle mass (MM), and this effect produces a decrease in function and muscle strength. Our objective was to assess the impact of protein or amino acid supplements on MM loss in middle-aged men (age < 65 years) with severe obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m²) during weight loss. Materials and Methods: We conducted a single-site randomized controlled trial (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05143398) with 40 in-patient male subjects with severe obesity. Participants underwent an intervention program consisting of a low-calorie balanced diet and structured physical activity. They were randomly assigned to 4-week treatment groups: (1) control (CTR, N = 10), (2) protein (P, N = 10), (3) branched-chain amino acid (BCAA, N = 10), and (4) essential amino acid mixture with tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates (PD-E07, N = 10) supplementation. Results: Following 4 weeks of intervention, all groups showed similar reductions in body weight compared to baseline. When examining the delta values, a notable increase in muscle mass (MM) was observed in the PD-E07 intervention group [MM (kg): 2.84 ± 3.57; MM (%): 3.63 ± 3.14], in contrast to the CTR group [MM (kg): −2.46 ± 3.04; MM (%): −0.47 ± 2.28], with a statistical significance of p = 0.045 and p = 0.023, respectively. However, the MM values for the P group [MM (kg): −2.75 ± 5.98, p = 0.734; MM (%): −0.44 ± 4.02, p = 0.990] and the BCAA group [MM (kg): −1 ± 3.3, p = 0.734; MM (%): 0.34 ± 2.85, p = 0.956] did not exhibit a statistically significant difference when compared to the CTR group. Conclusions: Amino acid-based supplements may effectively mitigate the loss of MM typically observed during weight reduction. Further validation through large-scale studies is necessary.

Keywords: obesity; amino acids; proteins; essential amino acids; tricarboxylic acids; supplementation; diet; weight loss

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MDPI and ACS Style

Brunani, A.; Cancello, R.; Gobbi, M.; Lucchetti, E.; Di Guglielmo, G.; Maestrini, S.; Cattaldo, S.; Piterà, P.; Ruocco, C.; Milesi, A.; et al. Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 4257. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134257

AMA Style

Brunani A, Cancello R, Gobbi M, Lucchetti E, Di Guglielmo G, Maestrini S, Cattaldo S, Piterà P, Ruocco C, Milesi A, et al. Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023; 12(13):4257. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134257

Chicago/Turabian Style

Brunani, Amelia, Raffaella Cancello, Michele Gobbi, Elisa Lucchetti, Giulia Di Guglielmo, Sabrina Maestrini, Stefania Cattaldo, Paolo Piterà, Chiara Ruocco, Alessandra Milesi, and et al. 2023. "Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study" Journal of Clinical Medicine 12, no. 13: 4257. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134257

APA Style

Brunani, A., Cancello, R., Gobbi, M., Lucchetti, E., Di Guglielmo, G., Maestrini, S., Cattaldo, S., Piterà, P., Ruocco, C., Milesi, A., Valerio, A., Capodaglio, P., & Nisoli, E. (2023). Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(13), 4257. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12134257

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Comparison of Protein- or Amino Acid-Based Supplements in the Rehabilitation of Men with Severe Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

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