Figure 1.

Study protocol. The study consisted of three periods. In the run‐in period (weeks −2 to 0), subjects were tried on a VLCD (600 kcal/day [2,512 KJ/day]) 10 days/2 weeks. In the caloric restriction period (weeks 0–8), subjects received a VLCD (600 kcal/day [2,512 KJ/day]) every day. In the transition period (weeks 8–12), subjects received higher caloric intake in a stepwise fashion from 800 kcal/day [3,349 KJ/day] on week 9 to 1,500 kcal/day [6,280 KJ/day] on week 12. An OGTT, blood chemistry, anthropometric measurements, and evaluation of QOL were assessed as indicated