Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a basic Chinese traditional diet (BTCD) in overweight patients on body mass index (BMI), lean mass, sense of hunger, and eating behaviour. METHODS: A total of 694 enrolled subjects (218 male and 476 female) were divided into two groups: group A undergoing a 1200-Kcal BTCD, and group B undergoing a 1200-Kcal standard western diet. RESULTS: From T0 (before treatment) to T1 (6 weeks after treatment), BMI was lowered in group A from (32.33±5.51) to (31.96±5.56) kg/m2 , and in group B from (31.62±6.29) to (31.36±6.47) kg/m2 . After treatment, patients in group A lost more weight (0.37±0.52) kg than group B (0.26±0.79) kg (P=0.0044). From T0 to T1, the mean lean mass of group A decreased from (16.48±5.50) to (16.27± 5.45) kg. In group B, mean lean mass decreased from (16.93±6.49) to (16.44±6.29) kg. The difference was significant (P=0.0078). CONCLUSION: The two diets could lead to lowerBMI, improve lean mass as well as eating behaviour and sense of hunger. However, the BTCD was significantly better than the western standard diet.

Key words: Overweight, Thinness, Body mass index, Hunger, Basic traditional Chinese diet