Low dose yeast hydrolysate in treatment of obesity and weight loss

The anti-obesity effects of yeast hydrolysate (YH) supplementation (1.0 g/d) have already been demonstrated. We investigated whether a low dose of YH (0.5 g/d, YH-500) also has the anti-obesity effects. Thirty obese women were randomly assigned to the control or YH-500 groups. After 8 weeks, weight and body mass index were significantly reduced by the YH treatment (0.5 g/d) (P<0.05). The YH-500 group lost a significant amount of body fat after the 8-week treatment: fat mass 25.9 kg (baseline) versus 23.8 kg (8th week), P<0.01; fat mass ratio 38.8% (baseline) versus 36.5% (8th week), P<0.05. The YH-500 group showed a significant reduction in calorie intake during the 8-week treatment (P< 0.001). The control group wanted to eat much more food (P<0.05) and sometimes thought about eating more often compared with the YH-500 group (P<0.05). Whereas the control group showed a slightly increased sweet preference, the YH-500 group showed a significant reduction in sweet preference (P<0.05). In conclusion, low dose YH supplementation (0.5 g/d) may induce a reductions in weight and body fat in obese women via the reduction of calorie intake.