Effects of multivitamin and mineral supplementation on adiposity, energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women

Obese individuals are more likely to have either lower blood concentrations or lower bioavailability of minerals and/or vitamins. However, there are limited data on the effects of nutritional supplementation on body weight (BW) control, energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism in obese subjects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of supplementation with multivitamin and multimineral on adiposity, energy expenditure and lipid profiles in obese Chinese women. A total of 96 obese Chinese women (body mass index (BMI) 28 kg m−2) aged 18–55 years participated in a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study. Subjects were randomized into three groups, receiving either one tablet of multivitamin and mineral supplement (MMS), or calcium 162 mg (Calcium) or identical placebo daily during the study period. BW, BMI, waist circumference (WC), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass, resting energy expenditure (REE), respiratory quotient (RQ), blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose and serum insulin, total cholesterol (TC), low- and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C) and triglycerides (TGs) were measured at baseline and 26 weeks. A total of 87 subjects completed the study. After 26 weeks, compared with the placebo group, the MMS group had significantly lower BW, BMI, FM, TC and LDL-C, significantly higher REE and HDL-C, as well as a borderline significant trend of lower RQ (P=0.053) and WC (P=0.071). The calcium group also had significantly higher HDL-C and lower LDL-C levels compared with the placebo group. The results suggest that, in obese individuals, multivitamin and mineral supplementation could reduce BW and fatness and improve serum lipid profiles, possibly through increased energy expenditure and fat oxidation. Supplementation of calcium alone (162 mg per day) only improved lipid profiles.