Women lose twice as much weight with low-carb diet as low-fat: 18.7 lbs vs 8.6 lbs

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Monday, October 25, 2010 9:39 am Email this article
Women lose twice as much weight -- 18.7 lbs vs 8.6 lbs -- and twice as much body fat -- 10.6 lbs vs 4.4 lbs -- on a low-carbohydrate diet as a low-fat diet according to a recent study. Weight Loss

Weight Loss: Low-Carb group lost 18.7 lbs vs 8.6 lbs for Low-Fat group

Women in the low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 18.7 pounds compared to 8.6 pounds for those in the low-fat group.

 

Fat Loss

Fat Loss: Low-Carb lost 10.6 lbs bs 4.4 lbs with low-fat

Women in the low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 10.6 pounds of body fat compared to 4.4 pounds in the low-fat group.

 

Diet

Diet: Low-Carb limited to 20 grams of carbs; Low-Fat limited to 30% Fat, low-calorie diet

Women in the low-carbohydrate group restricted carbohydrate intake to less than 20 grams per day, but were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.

After 2 weeks of dieting, women in the low-carb group were allowed to increase their intake of carbohydrate to 40 to 60 grams per day only if self-testing of urinary ketones continued to indicate ketosis.

(Ketosis indicates that the body is burning fat for fuel.)

Women in the low-fat group were instructed to limit fat intake to 30 percent of calories and reduce calorie intake according to their body size. They don’t say exactly how much the women were to reduce calorie intake, but I assume that it was a reduction of 500 calories per day. I say this because they mention that during the first few weeks, that weight loss in the low-fat group is what you would expect if calorie intake were reduced by about 400 calories per day. A decrease of 500 calories per day should cause a weight loss of 1 pound per week (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories or roughly 1 pound).

 

Calorie Intake

Calorie Intake: Low-Carb ate 1600 calories per day vs 1700 calories for low-fat group

Calorie intake of the two groups was similar: an average of 1608 calories per day in the low-carbohydrate group compared to 1707 calories per day in the low-fat group.

 

Calories Reduced

Low-Carb Group Reduced Calorie Intake By 450 Calories Per Day

Although they were not asked to reduce calorie intake, women in the low-carbohydrate group decreased their intake by an average of 450 calories per day.

After three months, the women in the low-carbohydrate group were eating an average of 15 percent of calories as carbohydrates, 28 percent protein, and 57 percent fat.

In contrast, the low-fat diet group ate an average of 54 percent of calories as carbohydrate, 18 percent protein, and 28 percent fat.

 

Subjects

Subjects: 53 Obese Women

The study involved 53 healthy, obese women (40 whites and 13 blacks) with an average body mass index of 33.6.

 

Completed Study

79% Finished Study

Forty-two of the 53 completed the study (79 percent).

REFERENCE

Brehm B, Seeley R, Daniels S, D’alessio D. A randomized trial comparing a very low carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted low fat diet on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Apr, 88(4):1617-23.

AUTHOR CORRESPONDENCE

Bonnie Brehm
University of Cincinnati and
Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221-0038, USA
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• Low Fat Diets

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