Effects of L-Arginine supplementation on Anthropometric Indices and Body Composition in patients with metabolic syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction: Significant increase in metabolic syndrome over the world and the risk of its complications, explains the necessity to find new ways to control it. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of  L-Arginine supplementation on anthropometric parameters in patients with metabolic syndrome Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial, 60 patients with metabolic syndrome were divided randomly into L - Arginine groups (AG)  and placebo group (PG). Patients in the AG  received daily 5 gr of L-Arginine supplementation. Weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio, fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) were measured at the baseline and after 3 months of intervention. Results: At the end of the intervention the variables related to body composition did not show any significant difference between AG and Pg (P>0.05). At the end of the intervention compared to baseline was observed a significant decrease in the mean percentage of FM (37.80±9.12 to  37.26±8.74: P =0.01) and a significant increase in FFM (27.76± 4.47 to 28.35±4.92: P =0.01) in the AG but then calculate the mean changes in variables related to anthropometric parameters compared to baseline and compared between the two groups showed that there was no significant difference in the variables in the AG and Pg (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our study shows that 5 gr/d L-Arginine supplementation for 12 weeks had no significant effect on weight, BMI, body composition in patients with the metabolic syndrome patients. &nbsp