NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- Phosphorus supplementation for overweight and obese individuals can lead to decreases in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and subjective appetite scores, according to new research from Lebanon.
"Given the increased prevalence of obesity among individuals consuming abundant quantities of food containing low levels of phosphorus, it was reasonable to postulate that decreased phosphorus intake may be involved in the development of obesity and its metabolic abnormalities," Dr. Omar Obeid of the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut noted in an email to Reuters Health.
He continued, "Phosphorus supplementation (375 mg per main meal) halted weight gain ... and (increases in) BMI and significantly decreased waist circumference. At the same time, these changes were associated with early satiation."
Previous studies have linked a low phosphorus status with increased body weight, and decreased intake with meals after supplementation with phosphorus. Further, current methods for cereal refinement can lead to a substantial loss of phosphorus content, according to an article online Dec. 21 in Nutrition and Diabetes.
Obeid and colleagues assessed the impact of phosphorus supplementation on appetite, body measurements, and blood metabolites in subjects ages 18 to 45, with a BMI of at least 25 kg/m2, who were randomized to receive placebo or phosphorus supplements with meals for 12 weeks.
In total, all 26 participants in the phosphorus group and all 21 in the placebo group completed the study. No participants reported side effects.
The phosphorus group lost an average of 0.65 kg compared to a mean increase of 1.13 kg in the placebo group (p=0.01). There were also significant differences with phosphorus versus placebo in waist circumference (-3.62 versus 0.38 cm, p<0.001) and BMI (-0.24 versus 0.42 kg/m2, p=0.01).
The authors did not note significant differences at the end of the study for total cholesterol, serum phosphorus, triglycerides, insulin, or C-reactive protein (CRP).
Finally, participants in the phosphorus group reported a reduction in appetite, number of snacks, taste of food, and quantity needed to reach fullness compared to the placebo group.
Obeid told Reuters Health, "As to applicability in everyday practice, we think it is still early to make a recommendation on supplementation. Physicians can nevertheless encourage changes in diet, mainly encouraging foods rich in phosphorus. Phosphorus bioavailability is known to be high from meats and dairy products. Thus, inclusions of milk in meals that are carbohydrate-based (starch, sugar) would probably reduce the detrimental impact of those meals."
"We need more studies to assess long-term effects of phosphorus, as well as its exact mechanism of action on weight reduction. On a public health level, the food industry should reconsider better techniques for maintaining an adequate phosphorous content, mainly in bread, where cereals refinement negatively affects food content in phosphorous," he continued.
The study was funded by the National Council for Scientific Research in Lebanon.
SOURCE:
Nutrition Diabetes 2015.