Exclusion criteria were: age less than 18 years old, kidney disease, liver disease and any endocrine disorder other than obesity or Type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as change of body weight (BW) at more than 5% of the initial BW during the last 3 months and taking any of the following drugs within 3 weeks before the start of the study: hypolipidemic agents, antidiabetics, drugs for weight loss.Me