The effects of 6-week low glycemic load diet based on low glycemic index foods in overweight/obese children--pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-week low Glycemic Load (GL) diet intervention based on low Glycemic Index (GI) foods on body weight, body composition, metabolic risk factors and satiety in overweight/obese pre-pubertal children.

METHODS: Following a pediatric examination 8 healthy, average age 11 year old, Caucasian, pre-pubertal overweight/obese (BMI = 24, 7 +/- 3.8 kg/m(2)) children participated in the study. The Low GL diet intervention was based on the replacement of at least 50% of the high GI foods with Low-GI foods. The children with one of their parents participated in weekly nutrition consultations. Body composition, fasting glucose, insulin, cholesterol and triglyceride were measured before and after the study. Dietary changes were made based on weekly 4-day food-diaries.

RESULTS: Despite no change in body weight, there was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in % body fat (29.4 +/- 4.2 vs. 25.4 +/- 5.3), Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR 0.87 +/- 0.053 vs. 0.86 +/- 0.05), decrease in self-reported hunger level (4.37 +/- 0.74 vs. 1.75 +/- 0.75) and the total number of risk factors (28 vs. 15). There was a strong negative correlation between fasting glucose and insulin levels at baseline and in the magnitude of change after the study (r = -0.93 and r = -0.85 respectively; p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: A 6 week study demonstrated the practicality and effectiveness of this Low GL dietary approach. Despite of the unchanged body weight, Low GL diet consultations positively modified body fat content and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight or obese children.