Therapeutic action of ketogenic enteral nutrition in obese and overweight patients: an interventional study

Methods

Anthropometric and bio-impedance data from 629 patients who underwent KEN were collected before and after completing a 10-day cycle. The study focuses on the change in outcomes from the first cycle to the second cycle and from the first cycle to the third cycle. The following outcomes were explored: weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), fat mass, lean mass, dry lean mass, phase angle, wellness marker and water mass as a percentage of total body weight. The cycle 1, 2 and 3 outcomes were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, n) summarising the outcome at each cycle. Statistical tests were used to test for significant differences between paired cycle 1 and cycle 2 outcomes and also between paired cycle 1 and cycle 3 outcomes. For normally distributed outcomes, the paired t-test was used. Whereas for skewed outcomes, the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used. Scatter plots were used to plot percentage of excess weight loss against phase angle. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated. Regression analysis for the outcome percent change in weight from cycle 1 to cycle 2 for phase angle and basal metabolic rate (BMR)/ weight ratio as predictors was carried out.