Research

Energy balance

A 12-week energy-restricted diet intervention produces similar beneficial reductions in body weight, fat mass, and insulin resistance in both metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) and metabolically healthy but obese (MHO) premenopausal women.

If you are an obese premenopausal woman, whether your blood markers are currently normal (MHO) or abnormal (MAO), a structured 12-week diet creating a moderate caloric deficit (approx. 600 kcal/day below your needs) will effectively reduce your weight and improve your metabolic health. Do not skip intervention just because you feel 'healthy' now; the benefits of weight loss apply to you just as much as to those with metabolic issues.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Overall, many of the study outcomes improved with the intervention in both MAO and MHO participants, but there was no difference in the magnitude of change between the groups. Body weight, waist circumference and total fat mass decreased significantly in response to the intervention in both MAO and MHO women (all p < 0.001).
Jonatan R. Ruiz et al. · Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism · 2013

Why this rating

Randomized controlled trial with a well-characterized, homogeneous population, though limited by short duration and lack of long-term follow-up.

Source

A Weight Loss Diet Intervention Has a Similar Beneficial Effect on Both Metabolically Abnormal Obese and Metabolically Healthy but Obese Premenopausal Women

Jonatan R. Ruiz et al. · Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism · 2013

DOI 10.1159/000345026

clinical_trial · n=78Cited 38×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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