A long-term evaluation of very low calorie semi-synthetic diets: an inpatient/outpatient study with egg albumin as the protein source.

Fifty-two obese patients were studied initially for two weeks as inpatients on very low calorie diets, containing 0.76-1.34 MJ (180-320 kcal) as 15-40 g egg albumin, 30-40 g oligosaccharides, vitamins and minerals. Patients were seen weekly after discharge from hospital. Forty-one patients were able to continue treatment for more than eight weeks, and 29 for more than 16 weeks. In terms of weight loss, 41 patients lost at least 10 kg body weight, 29 at least 15 kg, and 14 at least 20 kg; 17 patients came within 15 kg of their ideal body weight. With 40 g/day carbohydrate, the quantity of egg albumin required to give nitrogen equilibrium was estimated to be about 25 g/day. All patients were able to resume their normal activities on discharge from hospital and had no major side-effects from treatment. Routine clinical, biochemical and haematological examinations showed no significant changes. In particular, serum proteins, electrolytes, uric acid, cholesterol and blood haemoglobin and haematocrit were unaffected. Ketosis was minimal or absent. It is concluded that the use of very low calorie semi-synthetic diets is a feasible and safe method of weight reduction for obese patients.