Low Fat Plant-Based Supplemented Diet Effects on Risk Factors for Chronic Non-communicable Diseases

The effect of a diet free from animal-sourced nutrients on a variety of risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases in weight reduction programs is not well established. In this non-randomised interventional study, the investigators will document the effects of a low-fat, plant-based diet supplemented with two daily plant-based meal replacements on serum LDL cholesterol as a primary end-point and total cholesterol, triglycerides, serum fasting glucose, serum urate, serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and body fat mass as secondary end-points. These end-points will be measured at baseline, after 10 weeks and after 36 weeks of intervention. Participants will be enrolled in the interventional arm with prescribed low fat plant-based diet from the group of all applicants to a free living population-based diet optimising program. The choice to participate in the study will be made by participants themselves. The investigators hypothesise that low-fat plant based diet supplemented with plant-based meal replacements eaten ad libitum allows a significant reduction of serum LDL cholesterol concentration.