Posted on 05/21/2003 2:20:12 PM PDT by Johnny Gage
Two Studies Vindicate Atkins Diet
May 21, 2003 4:00 pm US/Central (AP) A month after Dr. Robert C. Atkins' death, his much-ridiculed diet has received its most powerful scientific support yet: two studies in one of medicine's most distinguished journals show it really does help people lose weight faster without raising their cholesterol.
The research, in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, found that people on the high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet lose twice as much weight over six months as those on the standard low-fat diet recommended by most major health organizations.
However, one of the studies found that the Atkins dieters regain much of the weight by the end of one year.
Atkins, who died April 17 at age 72 after falling and hitting his head on an icy sidewalk, lived to see several shorter studies that found, to researchers' great surprise, that his diet is effective and healthy in the short run.
Although those reports have been presented at medical conferences, none until now has been published in a top-tier journal. And one of the studies in the journal lasted a year, making it the longest one yet.
"For the last 20 years that I've been helping people lose weight, I've been trashing the Atkins diet -- without any real data to rely on," said Dr. Michael Hamilton, an obesity researcher who was not part of either study. "Now we have some data to give us some guidance."
Now, he said, he would neither trash it nor endorse it. "I'm going to say I don't know. The evidence isn't in," he said.
One study ran six months and was conducted by the Veterans Affairs Department; the yearlong study was led by Gary D. Foster, who runs the weight-loss program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Atkins' diet books have sold 15 million copies since the first one was published in 1972. From the start, doctors branded the Atkins diet foolish and dangerous, warning that the large amounts of beef and fat would lead to sky-high cholesterol levels. In both studies, the Atkins dieters generally had better levels of "good" cholesterol and triglycerides, or fats in the blood. There was no difference in "bad" cholesterol or blood pressure. Dr. Frederick F. Samaha of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who led the VA study, said both studies indicate that people do lose more weight on Atkins, "but the difference is not great."
The 132 men and women in the VA study started out weighing an average of 286 pounds. After six months, those on the Atkins diet had lost an average of 12.8 pounds, those on the low-fat diet 4.2.
The other study involved 63 participants who weighed an average of 217 pounds at the start. After six months, the Atkins group lost 15.4 pounds, the group on the standard diet 7.
But at the end of a year, the Atkins dieters had regained about a third of the weight. Their net loss averaged 9.7 pounds. The low-fat dieters had regained about one-fifth of the weight, for a net loss of 5.5 pounds.
The year-end difference was not big enough to tell whether it was caused by the diets, Foster said.
About 40 percent of the patients dropped out of each study. And while supporters of the Atkins diet say it is easier to stick with, people on the Atkins regimen were just as likely to drop out as people on the standard diets.
The important finding, Foster said, is that the Atkins diet appears to be a healthy short-term way to lose weight. Nobody has studied it long enough to tell whether it is a healthy way to maintain that loss, he said.
Collette Heimowitz, director of education and research at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services, said people there were not surprised by the weight loss and improved cholesterol.
"But I'm thrilled that serious researchers are taking a hard look at the program, so that health care professionals and physicians would find comfort in offering Atkins as an alternative to the one-size-fits-all hypothesis of low-fat, low-calorie," she said.
The studies did not convince Kathleen Zelman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
"There's never been any denying that low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets such as Atkins do, absolutely, cause weight loss," she said. "But do they hold up over time and can you stay on them over time?"
From Foster's study, it does not look like it, she said.
Doh! Now look what you've done to me?!?! :^)
I check the scales every Sunday morning after my walk. That is the only time I ever get on the scales. BTW, I only recently was able to start weighing myself at home because I was "off the scale" as well. Now I'm dropping 2-3 a week.
Another thing to do is to set a realistic goal. I decided in early March that I was going to lose one pound per week. So I took a yearly planner and wrote my target weight on every Sunday - one pound less than the week before - for the rest of the year. I am actually well ahead of the plan by now, but that is good because once I start getting closer to my ultimate goal (of 185 pounds), the weight is going to start coming off slower. But I'll have such a cushion built up by then that I will be well ahead of my plan even if I go a week or two with no weight loss every now and then (towards the end).
Good luck.
Dan
Hey, now, don't go all crazy on us! No reason for extreme measures!!
Dan
8^D (walking more, too!)
Trans fat yes. But those following the Atkins' program undoubtedly eat more saturated fat than those following a low-fat diet, and their cholesterol numbers are normally better, often much better, as reflected in these studies. Dr. Atkins was a cardiologist, after all.
Any easy meal is our chicken parm. Chicken breast smothered in mozzarella and paremesan and topped with spaghetti sauce. Sometimes we toss in a few strands of spaghetti, but it also goes great with fried eggplant topped with shredded parm.
My lifelong craving for sweets has disappeared. Now I look at baked things and know that they taste good, but I don't feel the need to sit down and consume them until I burst. I don't eat them at all! I hope I can get these 25 lbs of baby fat off, and I hope to continue eating this way, as I feel so much better than when my cravings played havoc with my blood sugar levels.
Like the "fact" that the Atkins diet is unhealthy? I've lost confidence in the medical establishment when it comes to nutrition.
As I explained to Bib, I just lost a good pal to a 400LB driver who fell asleep at the wheel and whose car was full of fast-food wrappers. He was hurt badly, too, but his vast bulk and airbag apparently combined to save his life
The State Troopers tell me that it seems to them that they are seeing more of this type of accident. The cops think the very obese drivers seem to emerge unscathed for two reasons, 1.)They are asleep and relaxed at time of impact 2.) Airbags.
Never been known for charm myself, but my very bad public manners on the site make an apology necessary. However, I would like to see DMV's everywhere check the really fat for sleep disorders which may be rendering then unfit drivers. (That is if they can find the time away from their present primary duty of issuing illegal aliens driving licenses and voting cards.)
What if it's All Been a Big Fat Lie?Lowering the Risk of Heart Attack
"...Many people try to reduce their heart attack risk by monitoring their blood cholesterol levels. A checkup usually includes a routine blood workup to monitor serum lipids and other health markers. We regard the results of total cholesterol, LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, and HDL, or "good," cholesterol, as a gauge of our cardiovascular health.
But many doctors and patients don't pay enough attention to triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are the main form of fat storage in the body. Normal levels usually range between 30 and 200 mg/dL, but readings of over 100 mg/dL double the risk of heart disease. An elevated triglyceride level, particularly a high ratio of triglycerides to HDL, is an important heart attack risk predictor. Research headed by John Gaziano, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, has shown the significance of these levels in determining heart-attack risk(1). Dr. Gaziano and his team evaluated 340 men and women at risk of a heart attack and 340 control subjects, then examined interrelationships between fasting triglyceride levels and other lipids, as well as nonlipid risk factors. They found a significant association between elevated triglycerides and heart attack risk, with a higher ratio of triglycerides to HDL being a strong predictor of heart attack. The 25 percent with the highest rates had 16 times the incidence of heart attack as the quadrant with the lowest ratio..."
The Role of Carbohdrate Reduction in Reducing Cardiac Risk Factors
"...For years, it has been an assumption that a nutrition plan primarily composed of protein and fat has an adverse effect on blood chemistry. Amazingly, however, there have been virtually no published studies confirming such results when the diet was low enough in carbohydrate to cause the body to burn stored fat as fuel. All of the studies indicating that dietary fat creates lipid abnormalities were done with diets that also contain high amounts of carbohydrate..."
Reduce Carbs, Cut Heart Disease
"...Using food-frequency questionnaires, researchers found that the higher a woman's intake of foods with a higher glycemic index, the higher the risk of CHD. Classifying carbs by glycemic index, instead of as simple or complex, was a better predictor of CHD risk..."
Effect of Six Month Adherence to a Very Low Carbohydrate Program
"...Forty-one individuals or 80 percent followed the nutrition regimen for the duration of the study.
* The regimen led to sustained weight loss during the six-month period. Body weight decreased significantly by 10.3 percent (or an average of almost 20 pounds) from the beginning to the end of the study. Body mass index decreased by 3.2 kg/m2. Average percentage of body fat significantly decreased by 2.9 percent.
* Total cholesterol level decreased by 11mg/dL; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level decreased significantly by 10 mg/dL; triglyceride level decreased with a high level of significance by 56 mg/dL; high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level increased significantly by 10 mg/dL; and the cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio was also significantly decreased by 0.9 units.
* There were no serious adverse effects. Further controlled research is warranted..."
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