Congress-Website Vienna 2010

Experts present the role of nutraceuticals in the treatment of obesity at the ENA Annual Conference

Vienna, 13 March 2010 (ena) - The European Nutraceutical Association (ENA) addressed the subject of "Nutraceuticals and Obesity" on the occasion of their sixth Annual Conference attended by some 250 doctors, nutrition specialists, dietary assistants, pharmacists, natural scientists and sports scientists from Europe and the USA. Five internationally renowned experts presented the significance and the consequences of our ever-heavier society on the health of individuals, and discussed the role of nutraceuticals in weight reduction. Formula diets were also included as they also belong to this product group in the widest sense. Other non-surgical treatment approaches and possible options for the future were also discussed.

Professor Michael Kunze, Vienna, gave an overview of the epidemiology of obesity. He pointed out the additional significance that visceral fat, i.e. abdominal fat, has for estimating the health consequences of obesity, and introduced discussions on the Body Mass Index (BMI). All the speakers were agreed that the BMI as the reference criterion for estimating the consequences of obesity is unsuitable because it ignores the body's composition and the distribution of fat in the body. For this reason, the waist circumference must also be included in the calculations. This also plays an important role in the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome as Dr Wilfried P. Bieger, Associate Professor from Munich, explained in his lecture. Visceral adipose tissue is one of the most active endocrine organs in the body. It releases hormones and inflammatory factors which can lead to late complications such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. A diet rich in complex antioxidants such as fruit and vegetables plays an important protective role in metabolic syndrome. Certain nutraceuticals also have the property of promoting the feeling of satiety as Professor Arne Astrup from Copenhagen explained. This is an important approach to the treatment of obesity since overweight individuals naturally require more energy to perform the same work as those of normal weight. Proteins and calcium are already used in formula diets due to their satiating properties. The nutrition scientist Antje Damms-Machado, Hohenheim University, explained the mechanism of action and the benefits of formula diets in the treatment of obesity. These diets, which are fully balanced in their most intensive forms, do not only satiate, they also have the positive aspect of predefined portions which counteracts the confirmed tendency of the overweight to underestimate their energy intake. Thus formula diets enable a weight loss of up to 20 kg in twelve weeks. But Associate Professor Dr Thomas Ellrott, Head of the Institute for Nutrition Psychology at Goettingen University, explained that the greatest problem in the treatment of obesity is maintaining the new weight. He then described the most important behavioural patterns on the way to controlling weight.

The Conference was complemented by poster contributions on a wide range of studies in the field of nutraceuticals. This year's science award was presented to Dr Stephanie Roll from the Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics at the Charité University Medical Centre in Berlin with a paper on the positive effect of fruit and vegetable juice concentrates on the prevention of moderate and severe symptoms of the common cold.

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