Dose Response of Leucine on Muscle Maintenance During Weight Loss

The objective of this research is to determine if there is dose response of leucine on muscle maintenance during 4-week of alternate-day fasting (ADF) on blood parameters, body composition, mood and parameters related to appetite in young men with a body mass index of 23kg/m2 and above, whose body mass falls outside of the healthy range for their height (Asian reference point for increased risk of cardiovascular diseases). Participants have no diagnoses of, and are not prescribed medications for, cardiovascular, metabolic, diabetic, lung (except controlled asthma), kidney, or joint health conditions. To achieve this objective, 100 hundred young men, aged between 21 and 35 years old will be recruited to complete a 4-week ADF programme. The fasting programme starts at 12 midnight and alternates between fasting and feeding days. Each fasting or feeding day is 24 hours in duration. During fasting days, participants abstain from all food and beverages except for ad libitum plain water and other zero-calorie beverages, and a small meal amounting to 25% of daily caloric need. This small meal must be consumed between 12 pm and 2 pm in this study, for standardization to ensure consistency in the total duration of fasting and feeding. During feeding days, participants eat up to approximately 125% of daily caloric need (calculated weekly), with no restriction on meal timing as long as meals are consumed within the 24-hour period. The programme ends after 4 weeks (28 days) of continuous ADF All food for the 4-week ADF will be provided. Participants will be randomly assigned (double blind) to the amount of leucine in their diet: 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 or 0.08 g/kg body mass per meal for 1 meal/day on fasting days and 3 meals/day on feeding days. Blood parameters, body mass, height, waist-to-hip ratio, body composition, mood, stress level, and parameters related to eating and appetite will be measured before and after 4-week of ADF. The investigators hypothesised a dose response in