Objective: To investigate the effect of a probiotic milk product containing the culture CAUSIDO 1 and of two alternative products on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese subjects. Design: An 8 week randomized, double-blind, placebo-and compliance-controlled, parallel study. Subjects: Seventy healthy, weight-stable, overweight and obese (25.0`BMI`37.5 kgam 2 ) males (n 20) and females (n 50), 18 ± 55 y old, were randomly assigned into ®ve groups. Intervention: Four groups consumed 450 ml fermented milk products (yoghurt) daily. Group 1: a yoghurt fermented with two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus (StLa). Group 2: a placebo yoghurt fermented with delta-acid-lactone (PY). Group 3: a yoghurt fermented with two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and one strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (StLr). Group 4: a yoghurt fermented with one strain of Enterococcus faecium and two strains of Streptococcus thermophilus (CAUSIDO 1 culture), GAIO 1 (G). The dietary composition of the yoghurt was otherwise similar. The ®fth group was given two placebo pills (PP) daily. Results: When comparing all ®ve treatment groups, unadjusted for changes in body weight, no statistical effects were observed in week 8 in the G-group on low density lipoproteins (LDL)-cholesterol (P 0.29). After adjustment for small changes in body weight, LDL-cholesterol decreased by 8.4% (0.26 AE 0.10 mmolal; P`0.05) and ®brinogen increased (0.74AE 0.32 mmolal; P`0.05) after 8 weeks in the G-group. This was signi®cantly different from the group consuming chemically fermented yoghurt and the group consuming placebo pills (P`0.05). After 8 weeks, systolic blood pressure was signi®cantly more reduced in the StLa and Ggroup compared to StLr. No other differences were found. Conclusion: The CAUSIDO 1 culture reduced LDL-cholesterol and increased ®brinogen in the overweight subjects at a 450 ml consumption daily for 8 weeks. The effect on LDL-cholesterol con®rms previous studies. An immunostimulation by one of the strains in the product might explain the effect on ®brinogen in the G-group.

SKOV, ANNEBETH R., NIKOLAJ HAULRIK, SØREN TOUBRO, CHRISTIAN MØLGAARD, AND ARNE ASTRUP. Effect of protein intake on bone mineralization during weight loss: a 6-month trial. Obes Res. 2002;10: 432-438. Objective: The long-term effect of dietary protein on bone mineralization is not well understood. Research Methods and Procedures: Sixty-five overweight (body mass index, 25 to 29.9 kg/m 2 ) or obese (Ն30 kg/m 2 ) subjects were enrolled in a randomized, placebo-controlled, 6-month dietary-intervention study comparing two controlled ad libitum diets with matched fat contents: high protein (HP) or low protein (LP). Body composition was assessed by DXA. Results: In the HP group, dietary-protein intake increased from 91.4 g/d to a 6-month intervention mean of 107.8 g/d (p Ͻ 0.05) and decreased in the LP group from 91.1 g/d to 70.4 g/d (p Ͻ 0.05). Total weight loss after 6 months was 8.9 kg in the HP group, 5.1 kg in the LP group, and none in the control group. After 6 months, bone mineral content (BMC) had declined by 111 Ϯ 13 g (4%) in the HP group and by 85 Ϯ 13 g (3%) in the LP group (not significant). Loss of BMC was more positively correlated with loss of body fat mass (r ϭ 0.83; p Ͻ 0.0001) than with loss of body weight. Six-month BMC loss, adjusted for differences in fat loss, was greater in the LP group than in the HP group [difference in LP vs. HP, 44.8 g (95% confidence interval, 16 to 73.8 g); p Ͻ 0.05]. Independent of change in body weight and composition during the intervention, highprotein intake was associated with a diminished loss of BMC (p Ͻ 0.01). Discussion: Body-fat loss was the major determinant of loss of BMC, and we found no adverse effects of 6 months of high-protein intake on BMC.

A high-protein, high-methionine diet does not raise homocysteine concentrations compared with a low-protein, low-methionine diet in overweight subjects.

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