High- and low-fat diets cause similar weight loss

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Monday, May 24, 2004 9:20 am Email this article
A REDUCED CALORIE DIET, whether high in fat or high in carbohydrates, causes a similar amount of weight loss according to a 1996 study.

Forty-three obese patients were hospitalized for six weeks and given a 1,000 calorie diet with a protein/carbohydrate/fat ratio of either 32/15/53 or 29/45/26.

Patients consuming the low-carb/high-fat diet lost slightly more weight (19.6 pounds vs 16.5 pounds, respectively) but they started out 11 pounds heavier than the other group.

The difference in weight loss was not statistically significant.

Nitrogen balance (indicating muscle retention) was also similar in both groups.

The low-carb/high-fat group had larger drops in blood sugar (-17 percent vs 7 percent), insulin (-46 percent vs -8 percent), total cholesterol (-21 percent vs -13 percent), HDL cholesterol (-18 percent vs -9 percent) and triglycerides (-18 percent vs -18 percent).

This study suggests that calorie intake is more important than diet composition. However, the previous study suggests just the opposite???that a high-protein, low-carb diet is much more effective at causing weight loss than an equal calorie low-fat diet.

REFERENCE

Golay A, Allaz AF, Morel Y, de Tonnac N, Tankova S, Reaven G. Similar weight loss with low or high carbohydrate diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63(2):174-8, Feb 1996.

Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Calorie Restriction

• Low Fat Diets