Posted on 05/17/2004 5:26:16 PM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Low-carbohydrate diets help people lose weight in the short term but work no better than other diets after a year, researchers reported on Monday.
Two studies of the popular diets that limit sugar and processed starches show they can work faster than some low-fat diets.
Both studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that after six months, the low-carb dieters lost more weight than the low-fat group. And one study showed that after 12 months, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight.
In one study, a team at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia followed 132 obese adults who were assigned randomly either to a low-carbohydrate diet with intake of less than 30 grams of carbs a day, or a low-calorie diet that kept fat intake at a moderate 30 percent of calories from fat.
Volunteers with diabetes had better control of blood sugar on the low-carb diet, the researchers reported.
The low-carb group lost weight faster, but the low-fat dieters caught up.
A year later, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight -- 11 to 19 pounds for the low-carb group and 7 to 19 pounds for the low-fat group.
Dr. Linda Stern, who led the study, said it confirmed that any diet that cuts calories will work.
"Americans are overweight because we're eating too much food and ingesting too many calories," she said in a statement.
But most people tend to overindulge in high-carbohydrate foods. "I think a low-carbohydrate diet is a good choice because much of our overeating has to do with consumption of too many carbohydrates," she added.
In the second study, a team from Duke University followed 120 overweight people and found those on the low-carb diet who also took a variety of vitamins and supplements lost an average of 26 pounds, compared to an average of 14 pounds on a low-fat diet after six months.
However, the low-fat dieters lowered their cholesterol levels more, reducing their risk of heart disease.
"We can no longer dismiss very-low-carbohydrate diets," Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health wrote in a commentary. But researchers said more study was needed to show whether low-carb diets are safe in the long term.
"Patients should focus on finding ways to eat that they can maintain indefinitely rather than seeking diets that promote rapid weight loss," Willet added.
I enjoy a sardine, onion and sliced whole jalapena sandwich for lunch. In place of butter I spread refried beans on the whole wheat bread. I don't get as many dates as I used to, but the quality is better
I did abuse it at first, I was going through cheese like there was no tomorrow. Same with bacon and eggs. After 6 months I had blood work done and my cholesterol was 300 with a ratio of 6.98 (between LDL and HDL). My doctor gave me a months supply of Lipitor and told me to stop all red meats and eggs. I refuse to take the Lipitor and in 9 weeks time I reduced my cholesterol by 102 points to 198 and my ratio is 4.71. I intend on trying to get my ratio to around 3. My triglycerides are 59 and everything else is fine.
I have only one problem, now my doctor isn't very friendly, we use to be on a good friendly basis but he chooses to be different, evidently he doesn't like the idea of me correcting my problem on my own.
This report is a crock. I lost that much weight in 2 weeks on South Beach.I am now down 45 pounds in 4 months.
My cholesterol is down 70 points and my triglycerides down 139 points. The Dr. took me off the cholesterol lowering medication, something I could never achieve by watching fat intake.
It sounds like this group went from eating 200 grams of carbs a day to 180 grams and calling it "low Carb" dieting.
Just curious...when you say adding carbs made it difficult, do you mean that you had cravings again, or that you think that's what stopped your weight loss?
I'm expecting to have some plateaus, especially as I get closer to goal (I'm not really that far off anyway...), but so far I've been lucky...averaging 1-2 pounds a week. I haven't added back all that many carbs yet...mostly oatmeal and fruit and a very occasional piece of whole grain bread...so I'm wondering how that will go.
Only have about five more pounds to lose so I guess that's the hardest part. Every now and then I go back to the first two weeks of the diet and it seems to help but then.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.