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.
My weight loss was quicker because I was training to run a half marathon but I hadn't lost any weight until I started Atkins.
I must say I question whether these people are actually ON the Atkins diet. I would really have to examine exactly what they are eating.
Both my hubby and I started Atkins about a year ago. I had lost around 30-35 pounds at six months; he had lost around 40-45. Now, my husband is able to lose weight if he can control his mindless eating (and the Atkins diet seemed to cut down on that a lot); I, on the other hand, have a very difficult time losing weight, but it did come off in this diet.
Also, we added some fruit to our diet early on, and I was drinking a non-fat mocha a day, and we still were losing a lot of weight. So, I would really have to look at what they were eating to believe that after six months they had only lost 12 pounds.
One side note: both my hubby and I have pretty much stood still on our weight loss after about 7 months. Anyone else experience this? We haven't gained it back, but haven't lost any more either.
...and a third group on chemotherapy lost an average of 52.6 pounds.
I agree with you here. And, for me, it is my biggest problem and my downfall when I get cravings.
I haven't had pizza for a year, and the most surprising part, I haven't missed it. I have not missed the bread, or pasta (me, no pasta, unbelievable!); occasionally I have some rice. But, sweets --- man, I learned that I am genetically programmed in such a way that I simply cannot walk past a bowl of M&Ms. This has been the toughest part for me. That said, when I do eat this stuff, I feel crummy.
It woulda been funnier IF I'd typed the right word.
Arrgggg.
Granted, I started this in full force on or about March 1st and so it remains to be decided whether the weight stays off but for the first time in my life, I am having to buy new clothes because the ones I have are getting too big!
I agree with Atkins that cakes, pies, cookies, donuts, and other heavily processed foods, are about the worst things you can eat. While I was not willing to adopt the Atkins plan as written, I have taken the general principles of it to heart. That is, I avoid most processed foods and only eat bread sparingly - usually as a hamburger bun (whole-wheat). I definitely don't eat supermarket bread anymore though once in a while, I might make an exception for a fresh slice of bread or maybe a roll in a restaurant (usually rub it in olive oil).
Since early March, I have ceased eating virtually all processed foods. I eat only meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, rice (a Dr. Atkins no-no), nuts and olive oil. It's not as hard to do as you might think. I simply avoid the junk and eat just whole foods. For instance, this weekend, I had grilled swordfish on Saturday with jalapenos, Spanish rice and corn. On Sunday, I had T-bone steak with mushrooms, onions and cous-cous (a form of Mediterranean rice). For breakfast, I'll have a banana and lunch will be either a tin of sardines or a small bag of unsalted peanuts. So I'm not going hungry or counting calories. I'm just eating better.
I also walk 6-8 miles a day. I get up at 5AM and walk three miles in my neighborhood. During lunch at work, I walk about 3-4 miles on a bike path near my work. I carry a pedometer with me to ensure that I get my miles in. For example, today, I couldn't walk my normal bike path at lunch because I had an appointment in downtown Boston. So when my appt. was over, I went back to my car to put on my sneakers and I walked 3 miles around Castle Island.
Since March 1st, I've been dropping an average of 3 pounds per week. I don't feel hungry like I thought I would. I think the walking makes you less hungry. I don't miss the cakes, pies, cookies, crackers, etc., either. I'm not even tempted by them. I just don't put that crap in my system anymore. And yes, I still have my couple of stout beers everynight!
I post all this only because I have been a critic of Atkins in the past. While his diet is not for me, I adopted many of his ideas and as a result I am losing weight for the first time in my life and feeling pretty good. I haven't been in this good shape since I was in the Marines.
Now I have for the past two years eaten in a more "Mediterranean style" with lots of pasta, bread, nuts, fish, olive oil, etc., and I stopped gaining weight. But I never lost weight either. It wasn't until I cut out the pasta and bread (and processed supermarket food) that the pounds started slipping off. So my hat is off to the late Dr. Atkins for putting me in the right direction.
I had the same problem. You've likely hit a "plateau"
There is info in his book on how to "breakthrough" these.
I got stuck for several weeks, then went off it for a while and haven't gotten back on. ( I really need to ) LOL
Some people are so lazy, if given the choice between eating dog crap and exercise to lose weight, they'd chose the former...
Perhaps you should reconsider. I don't see how eating carbs is going to help your foot.
6-8 miles is fantastic - few adults could do that.
And the walking does not take away your appetite, only your appetite for garbage. When I'm exercising (I've been lazy lately), healthful food tastes incredible.
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