Limit your waist size to half of your height

Effect of dietary supplementation with Diuripres® on blood pressure, vascular health, and metabolic parameters in individuals with high-normal blood pressure or stage I hypertension: The CONDOR randomized clinical study

Our aim was to evaluate if a nutritional intervention with a dietary supplement (Diuripres®) containing magnesium, standardized extract of orthosiphon, hawthorn, and hibiscus could positively affect blood pressure (BP), vascular health, and metabolic parameters in 60 individuals with high-normal BP or stage I hypertension. Participants followed a low-fat low-sodium Mediterranean diet for 4 weeks before being randomly allocated to 8-week treatment with two pills each day of either Diuripres® or placebo. Diuripres® significantly decreased systolic BP compared to placebo after 4 weeks (3.1 ± 0.8 mmHg; p < 0.05) and more consistently after 8 weeks (3.4 ± 0.9 mmHg; p < 0.05). At 8-week follow-up, after correction for multiple testing, dietary supplementation with Diuripres® was associated with significant improvements in diastolic BP (-3.1 ± 0.6 mmHg; p < 0.05), aortic BP (-4.3 ± 0.4 mmHg; p < 0.05), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP; 0.04 ± 0.01 mg/dL; p < 0.05) in comparison with baseline. The reductions in diastolic BP (--3.8 ± 0.7 mmHg; p < 0.05), aortic BP (-5.2 ± 1.0 mmHg; p < 0.05), and hs-CRP (-0.03 ± 0.01 mg/dL; p < 0.05) were also significant compared to placebo. Therefore, our study shows that dietary supplementation with Diuripres® may be useful in individuals with high-normal BP or stage I hypertension.

Impact of a short-term synbiotic supplementation on metabolic syndrome and systemic inflammation in elderly patients: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial

PURPOSE

The connection between gut microbiota imbalance, inflammation and its role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) clustering factors has been increasingly recognized. However, data on the efficacy of probiotics supplementation on MetS components are few and almost lacking in the elderly. To address this issue, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, clinical study on a large sample of MetS elderly patients.

METHODS

After 14 days of diet and physical activity standardization, 60 elderly patients were randomized to treatment with a synbiotic formula of Lactobacillus plantarum PBS067, Lactobacillus acidophilus PBS066 and Lactobacillus reuteri PBS072 with active prebiotics or placebo. Patients were evaluated anamnestically and by the execution of a physical examination and laboratory and haemodynamic analyses at the baseline and after 60 days of treatment. At enrollment and at the end of the trial, all enrolled patients complete the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire.

RESULTS

Through the 2-month period of treatment, patients who received active treatment experienced a statistically significant improvement in waist circumference and in fasting plasma insulin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-HDL-C, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor alpha serum levels, compared both to the baseline and the control group. Visceral adiposity index improvement in the synbiotic treatment group was significantly greater than in placebo group. Compared to baseline, treatment with synbiotics also significantly reduced mean arterial pressure and fasting plasma glucose. All treatment groups demonstrated a significant decrease in TG. TG reduction in the synbiotic group was significantly greater than in the control group. The EQ-5D VAS questionnaire significantly improved only in probiotics-treated subjects.

CONCLUSION

Treatment with a synbiotic formula of L. plantarum PBS067, L. acidophilus PBS066 and L. reuteri PBS072 with active prebiotics decreased MetS syndrome prevalence, several cardiovascular risk factors and markers of insulin resistance in elderly patients.

A proposal for a primary screening tool: 'Keep your waist circumference to less than half your height'

BACKGROUND

There is now overwhelming scientific evidence that central obesity, as opposed to total obesity assessed by body mass index (BMI), is associated with the most health risks and that the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) is a simple proxy for this central fat distribution. This Opinion reviews the evidence for the use of WHtR to predict mortality and for its association with morbidity. A boundary value of WHtR of 0.5 has been proposed and become widely used. This translates into the simple screening message 'Keep your waist to less than half your height'. Not only does this message appear to be suitable for all ethnic groups, it also works well with children.

DISCUSSION

Ignoring this simple message and continuing to use BMI as a sole indicator of risk would mean that 10% of the whole UK population, and more than 25% of the UK population who are judged to be normal weight using BMI, are misclassified and might not be alerted to the need to take care or to take action.

SUMMARY

Accepting that a boundary value whereby WHtR should be less than 0.5 not only lends itself to the simple message 'Keep your waist to less than half your height' but it also provides a very cheap primary screening method for increased health risks: A piece of string, measuring exactly half a person's height should fit around that person's waist.