Active clinical trials for "Obesity, Abdominal"

In the Belly Fat study, the effects of two different caloric-restricted diets on metabolic health will be examined in male and female subjects with increased abdominal adiposity (BMI >27 kg/m2). Metabolic health is defined as health of the primary metabolic organs the liver, gut and the adipose tissue, examined in a static state as well as after the application of a challenge test. The diets are equally caloric-restricted, but differ in nutrient composition. It is hypothesized that one of the two diets causes a larger improvement in organ health and reduction in liver fat.

Nicotinic acid (Niacin) has been used for many years for the treatment of dyslipidemia. Indeed Niacin decreases triglycerides (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) but more importantly increases high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c). Although the drug has been used for so long, its precise mechanism of action remains elusive. The aim of this study was to characterise the metabolic changes induced by 8 week treatment with Niacin in dyslipidemic, overweight patients. The importance of the inhibition of lipolysis on the overall lipid effects of niacin will be studied. In order to get a very comprehensive view of all metabolic activities of niacin, this study will investigate the potential effects of niacin on Glucose metabolism, lipid and lipoprotein turnover, quantitative changes in lipoproteins and key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a 12-week jump rope exercise program on body composition, blood pressure, insulin resistance, and academic self-efficacy in prehypertensive adolescent obese girls. Forty-eight prehypertensive adolescent obese girls participated in this study. The girls were randomly divided into the jump rope exercise intervention group (EX, n=24) and control group (CON, n=24). The EX group performed a jump rope training program at 40-70% of their heart rate reserve (HRR) 5 days/week for 12 weeks (sessions 50 minutes in duration). The CON group did not participate in any structure or unstructured exercise protocol. Blood pressure, body fat percentage, waist circumference, blood glucose and insulin, homeostatic model assessment - insulin resistance, and Academic Self-Efficacy were measured before and after the 12-weeks study.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of three months' endurance training and three months' endurance-strength training on inflammatory markers in women with abdominal obesity.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Singapore is approximately half of that in the United States, yet the incidence of type 2 diabetes is similar, and is expected to double in the near future. This indicates that metabolic dysfunction, particularly insulin resistance, is widely prevalent even among individuals who are considered normal-weight or lean by conventional measures, i.e. body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat. These individuals are often referred to as "metabolically-obese normal-weight" (MONW), and have increased risk for cardiometabolic disease despite their normal BMI and total body fat values. The prevalence of the MONW phenotype varies across populations and differs markedly among different ethnicities. However, our understanding of the complex interactions between ethnicity, body composition, and metabolic dysfunction and its reversal remains rudimentary. Previous attempts to characterize the MONW phenotype are confounded by the small but significant differences in BMI or percent body fat between groups (even if all subjects were lean, within the "normal" range), with MONW subjects being always "fatter" than the corresponding control subjects. There are no published studies that prospectively recruited groups of metabolically healthy and unhealthy lean individuals matched on BMI and percent body fat. Furthermore, although weight loss improves body composition and many of the cardiometabolic abnormalities in most obese patients, little is known about the possible therapeutic effects of calorie restriction in MONW subjects. Accordingly, a better understanding of the MONW phenotype and the evaluation of therapeutic approaches for its reversal will have important implications for public health. By facilitating earlier identification of these subjects, who are more likely to go undiagnosed and thus less likely to be treated before clinically overt cardiometabolic disease develops, results from this study will allow for earlier and effective intervention.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ultrasonic cavitation on abdominal obesity in females. Fifty volunteer females with abdominal obesity participated in the study.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether meal replacement, SlimWell ®, is effective in the treatment of obesity patients with metabolic syndrome.

Background and Purpose: Fitness is the foundation for health and quality of life for individuals. Recent changes in lifestyle and eating habit in Taiwan have significantly increased the prevalence of metabolic syndrome that may lead to poor fitness and subsequent coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Although workers at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) have undertaken regular health fitness examination, the examination did not include the posture and movement analysis and no exercise intervention was provided to those with metabolic syndrome. This study is therefore aimed to conduct comprehensive health fitness examination for workers at NTUH and to examine whether exercise intervention could decrease the risk factors and enhance fitness in those at risk or with metabolic syndrome. Methods: This study will consist of two parts. In the first part, 1102 workers at NTUH will be administered comprehensive fitness examination (body mass index, waist circumference, muscle strength, flexibility, balance, cardiopulmonary test, and posture and movement analysis) and will be assessed with the Physical Activity Readiness and the Perceived Musculoskeletal Pain Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Those workers who are at risk or have metabolic syndrome (N=240) will be assigned into the control, home-based exercise, and intensive exercise group with 80 in each group with their will. The home-based exercise group will receive exercise instruction biweekly for three months; the intensive exercise group will receive moderate aerobic exercise and strengthening exercise three times a week for three months. The other workers who are insufficient fitness status (N=240) will be assigned into the control, home-based exercise, and intensive exercise group with their will. The home-based exercise group will receive exercise instruction biweekly for a month; the intensive exercise group with 80 in each group will receive moderate aerobic exercise and strengthening exercise three times a week for a month. Descriptive statistics will be used to estimate the prevalence of 1, 2 and ≧3 metabolic risk factors, and poor fitness. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be used to examine the relation between metabolic syndrome risk factors and fitness. One-way ANOVA will be used to compare the demographic characteristics of the control, home-based exercise, and intensive exercise group. Two-way ANOVA repeated measures will be used to examine the metabolic syndrome risk factors and fitness in the three groups across time. Clinical relevance: Our results will help understand the health fitness of workers at NTUH and will assist in establishing effective exercise program for those at risk or with metabolic syndrome.

In this project, the investigators will test the hypothesis that predominant (two to three times a week 60 min) strength training is more effective in reducing visceral fat mass than endurance training in obese patients.

Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of hypertension. Based on population studies, risk estimates indicate that at least two-thirds of the prevalence of hypertension can be directly attributed to obesity. Obesity per se is commonly associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system with a predominant increase in sympathetic outflow to the kidneys and the peripheral vasculature and there is now conclusive evidence that heightened sympathetic nerve activity is a major contributor to the elevation in blood pressure associated with obesity, particularly in young subjects. In line with these findings, dietary weight loss has repeatedly been demonstrated to result in reduced sympathetic nerve activity and lower blood pressure levels. Several lines of evidence have well documented the significant role of SNS activation in obesity associated hypertension and target organ damage. Weight loss is the preferred treatment option for obesity and its consequences and reduces both SNS activation and blood pressure. In the real world however, weight loss maintenance is rarely achieved in obese patients highlighting the urgent need for alternative treatment strategies. Given the crucial involvement of SNS activation in various aspects of the obesity related increase in blood pressure, target organ damage and cardiovascular risk, the use of sympatho-inhibitory agents at an early stage is an obvious choice. The investigators therefore plan to examine the effects of the centrally sympatholytic agent moxonidine on blood pressure and the morning surge in blood pressure, sympathetic activity, regression of early target organ damage (heart, kidney and endothelium), metabolic and inflammatory markers in young obese subjects with hypertension in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial with the angiotensin receptor blocker irbesartan as an active comparator to achieve similar blood pressure reductions in both groups. The investigators hypothesize that moxonidine treatment will result in significant improvements in these outcome parameters and beneficial effects beyond simple blood pressure reduction. Findings from this study could pave the way for an early and pathophysiology- tailored treatment strategy of obesity related hypertension and its detrimental consequences.