Circulating ACE is a predictor of weight loss maintenance not only in overweight and obese women, but also in men

BACKGROUND:Circulating angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was identified as a predictor of weight loss maintenance in overweight/obese women of the Diogenes project.OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether ACE acted also as a predictor in men of the Diogenes study and to compare it with that in women.DESIGN:Subjects, who lost >/=8% of body weight induced by low-caloric diet in an 8-week weight loss period, were assigned to weight loss maintenance with dietary intervention for 6 months.SUBJECTS:125 overweight/obese healthy men from eight European countries who completed whole intervention.MEASUREMENTS:Concentrations and activity of serum ACE at baseline and after the 8-week weight loss, in addition to anthropometric and physiological parameters.RESULTS:Serum ACE concentration decreased by 11.3+/-10.6% during the weight loss period in men. A greater reduction is associated with less body weight regain during the maintenance period (r=0.227, P=0.012). ACE change was able to predict a weight regain