Low-Carb Diets Work Better in Short Term – Reports

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.

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. (Source: Reuters Health News, May 2004)