Nam-Seok Joo, et al. Measurements A research nurse measured the height and body weight of the participants while they were wearing light clothing and no shoes. Their weight was measured to the nearest 0.1 kg, and height was measured to the nearest centimeter. BMI was calculated as the weight divided by height squared (kg/ m2). The nurse also measured the waist circumference be- tween the lower rib and the iliac crest, electrically measured blood pressure using a model TM-2655P apparatus (PMS Instruments, Tokyo, Japan) after the participants had been at rest for at least 15 min, and checked each subject’s nutri- tional status every 4 weeks by inspection of a food diary kept by each participant. The body composition of each participant was analyzed by DEXA using a IDXA series (LUNAR apparatus GE, Schenectady, NY, USA). Addi- tionally, all of the subjects underwent blood tests [standard enzymatic measurements of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose, in- sulin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), homocys- teine, fibrinogen, and other metabolic parameters in fresh se- rum samples] at the beginning and end of the 12-week program. All blood measurements were done using a model TBA-200FR apparatus (Toshiba, Tokyo, Japan). TNF-α was measured using a Quantikine Human TNF-α enzyme im- mune assay (EIA)(R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN, USA). Adiponectin was measured using a human adiponectin ra- dioimmunoassay (RIA) kit (R&D Systems). We also ana- lyzed changes in intake of macronutrients using a three-day recall food diary by the CAN-Pro 3.0 nutrition analyzer (Korean Nutrition Society, Seoul, Korea). Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of the Two Groups Treatment (n = 12) Placebo (n = 7) p value Age (yrs) 39 ± 1 37 ± 1 0.299 Height (cm) 167 ± 2 171 ± 3 0.340 Weight (kg) 87 ± 4 89 ± 3 0.482 BMI (kg/m2) 31 ± 1 30 ± 1 0.592 Waist (cm) 99 ± 2 99 ± 3 0.837 FFM (kg) 52 ± 2 53 ± 1 1.000 FM (kg) 31 ± 2 32 ± 3 0.650 F%M (kg) 37 ± 2 37 ± 2 0.902 s-BP (mmHg) 125 ± 3 121 ± 4 0.650 d-BP (mmHg) 78 ± 3 78 ± 4 0.902 Glucose (mg/dL) 108 ± 7 100 ± 2 0.902 HDLC (mg/dL) 46 ± 1 45 ± 4 0.650 LDLC (mg/dL) 120 ± 13 109 ± 12 0.837 TG (mg/dL) 186 ± 49 140 ± 25 0.902 TC (mg/dL) 203 ± 14 194 ± 9 0.837 TSH (μIU/mL) 1.8 ± 0.2 1.7 ± 0.2 0.902 Insulin (μU/μL ) 16 ± 2 19 ± 4 0.650 HOMA-IR 4.5 ± 1.0 4.7 ± 1.1 0.773 WBC count (× 103/μL) 7.0 ± 0.5 7.1 ± 0.6 0.967 HsCRP (mg/dL) 1.21 ± 0.94 0.45 ± 0.09 0.261 Homocysteine (mg/dL) 11.1 ± 0.6 12.7 ± 0.5 0.340 Fibrinogen (mg/dL) 376.7 ± 14.0 367.5 ± 28.9 0.773 TNF-α (pg/mL) 15.7 ± 1.4 11.5 ± 2.7 0.227 Adiponectin (μg/mL) 6.2 ± 0.7 6.7 ± 1.1 0.773 BMI, body mass index; Waist, waist circumference; FFM, fat free mass; FM, fat mass; F%M, fat mass Percentage in body; s-BP, systolic blood pressure; d-BP, diastolic blood pressure; Glucose, fasting glucose; HDLC, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDLC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; TC, total cholesterol; TSH, thyroid stimulating hormone; HOMA-IR, homestasis Model Assess- ment of Insulin Resistance; WBC, white blood cells; hsCRP, highly-sensitive C-reactive protein; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α. p values from Mann-Whitney U test. All data are expressed as mean±standard error; p values from Mann-Whitney U test comparing changes between the two groups. 244 Yonsei Med J http://www.eymj.org Volume 52 Number 2 March 2011