The effects of weight loss diet and Omega-3 fatty acids on body weight and some biochemical parameters in patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

This study was planned to investigate the effects of weight loss diet and omega-3 fatty acids on body weight and some biochemical parameters in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The study was conducted on 22 new diagnosed PCOS patients age between 20 and 30 years with a body mass index between 25.0-35.0 kg/m2 .The patients have no regular physical activity level and no chronic diseases. A questionnaire was administered to determine the demographic characteristics, general and nutritional habits of the patients. To determine the nutritional status of the patients at the baseline and to evaluate the adaptation to the diet at the 4th week, three days 24-h food records were obtained. The results were evaluated according to the recommendations of Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). Anthropometric measurements and some blood biochemical parameters were evaluated at the baseline, at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks of the study. Participants were divided into three groups. During eight weeks period, the first group (n=8) was treated with only drug (metformin 850 mg, twice a day), the second group (n=8) was treated with the combination of metformin and weight loss diet (weight loss of 5% body weight), the third group (n=6) was treated with the combination of metformin and omega-3 fatty acid supplemented (1000mg/day EPA-DHA) weight loss diet. The mean age of the patients was 27.4 ± 4.87 years. At the baseline, the nutritional status of the patients was evaluated. The dietary energy, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, cholesterol, vitamin and mineral intakes were similar among groups. In all groups, dietary fat intake was higher than DRI recommendations and the differences between 2nd and the 3rd groups was statistically significant at the baseline (p<0.05). The median of the n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio at the baseline was 4.1 in the 1st group, 4.4 in the 2nd group and 5.8 in the 3rd group. At the end of the 4th week of the study, the nutritional status of the patients was reevaluated. The median value of the daily energy intake was 1427 kcal in the 2nd group, 1389kcal in the 3rd group. The patients were met the recommendations of the researcher. On the other hand, the median energy intake of the 1st group was 1912 kcal and the carbohydrate, protein and total fat from total energy was 44%, 13% and 43.5% respectively. First group patients were increased the energy, total fat intakes and decreased the carbohydrate intakes after the 4th week. There were statistically significant differences between 1st group and 2nd and 3rd groups in terms of energy, protein, total fat intakes and the energy from carbohydrates, protein and total fat (p<0.05). The differences in anthropometric measurements of the groups were evaluated at the end of the 8th week according to baseline. There were no statistically significant differences in the 1st group. On the other hand, in the 2nd group, there were significant decreases in body weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, body fat mass, fat-free mass and fat-free mass index (p<0.05). In the third group, there were significant decreases in body weight, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, waist to hip ratio, body fat mass, fat-free mass and fat-free mass index and increase in body fat-free mass ratio (p<0.05). According to the evaluation of the weight loss target (5% of the body weight) of the weight loss groups, there were 4.5 % in the 2nd group, 7.1% in the 3rd group weight reduction. Otherwise, in the 1st group, 2.1% weight gain was determined. Evaluation of the changes in some biochemical parameters of the groups at the end of the 8th week, there were no statistically significant differences in the 1st group (p>0.05). Both in 2nd and 3rd group, there were significant reduction in fasting insulin levels and HOMA-IR values (p<0.05). In addition, in the 3rd group serum total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol was decreased significantly at the end of the study (p<0.05).Keywords: PCOS, metformin, weight loss diet, omega-3 fatty acids