Abstract
We examined the anti-obesity effect of soy milk containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on resting energy expenditure and body composition in young Japanese adult women. Thirty-four healthy young women aged 18-22yr were divided into two groups. One group ingested soy milk containing 1, 000mg of DHA (test drink) and the other group ingested soy milk containing corn oil (control drink) daily for 6 weeks. In both groups, body weight and BMI decreased after 6 weeks. Body fat and lean body mass (LBM) decreased in the test drink group and only LBM decreased in the control drink group. In the test drink group, the area of subcutaneous fat was reduced. significantly and the area of visceral fat showed a tendency to become lower, although no significant changes in either subcutaneous fat or visceral fat were observed in the control drink group. Resting energy expenditure in the test drink group had increased significantly by the end of the study, but no significant changes in resting energy expenditure were observed in the control drink group. These results show that the anti-obesity effect of soy milk containing DHA involves acceleration of resting energy expenditure.
