Short-Term Supplementation with 100% Bilberry Products and Its Effects on Body Composition and Lipid Profile in Overweight/Obese Women

Overweight and obesity are major public health concerns, often leading to increased cardiovascular risk. This eight-week intervention study examined whether regular consumption of two natural bilberry products could improve body composition and li-pid profiles in overweight/obese women. A total of 30 participants (aged 50–60 years) were assigned to consume either 125 mL/day of 100% bilberry juice or 10 g/day of 100% bilberry fibre, while maintaining their habitual diets and lifestyles. Although no signif-icant changes were found in anthropometric parameters or blood pressure in either group, both interventions reduced LDL-C and increased HDL-C. Surprisingly, total cholesterol levels rose (in the bilberry juice group from 6.41 ± 1.23 mmol/L to 6.94 ± 1.30 mmol/L (p < 0.001), in the fibre group from 6.06 ± 1.39 mmol/L to 6.43 ± 1.05 mmol/L (p = 0.046), likely due to elevated HDL-C (p < 0.001) overshadowing the drop in LDL-C (p < 0.05). Triacylglycerols did not change significantly and were still within the reference range. Notably, the bilberry juice group experienced a significant reduc-tion in atherogenic small dense LDL (sdLDL) subfractions, suggesting a favourable shift in cardiovascular risk factors. These findings highlight the potential of bilber-ry-based products as a supportive strategy for improving lipid profiles in over-weight/obese women.