Efficacy of antioxidant therapy in reducing visceral obesity among overweight individuals

Oxidative stress is a significant pathogenetic factor in the development and progression of visceral obesity. Standard approaches based on lifestyle modification (LM) are often insufficient to achieve clinically significant reductions in visceral fat depots.

The aim: to comparatively evaluate the efficacy of three therapeutic strategies (ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate 250 mg 3 t.i.d. + LM; ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate 250 mg 3 t.i.d. alone; LM alone) on visceral fat dynamics in overweight female patients.

Materials and methods. The study included 75 overweight female patients (mean age 32.9 ± 0.9 years), randomized into three groups depending on the therapeutic strategy. Estimation of anthropometric parameters, visceral fat indexes (bioimpedance analysis), and lipid profile was made at baseline and after 3 months of therapy.

Results. Treatment with ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate resulted in a statistically significant reduction in visceral fat mass and area comparatively to monotherapy performed alone (p < 0.001). The most pronounced effect was observed with combined use of the drug and monotherapy, which was superior to pharmacological monotherapy (p = 0.0136). Furthermore, the dynamics of lipid profile in the treatment groups was characterized by increase in LDL cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, and atherogenic index, while no significant changes in these parameters were observed.

Conclusion. Ethylmethylhydroxypyridine succinate significantly reduces visceral fat in overweight female individuals, especially in combination with LM. Combination approach is the most effective strategy for correcting visceral obesity. These data highlight the need for further study of the effects of antioxidant therapy on lipid metabolism parameters and metabolic risk.