Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Low carbohydrate diet is more effective

This one is fairly straightforward. The abstract is below but if you can get hold of it the full article is definitely worth reading:

In conclusion, there is evidence to support the hypothesis that low-carbohydrate diets may confer greater benefit in terms of weight loss compared with healthy-eating advice, and are not dangerous in the short term for people with and without Type 2 diabetes. Little is know about the long-term effects of these diets, and this present study is subject to post-study monitoring for 2 years with intention to report annual data.

A low-carbohydrate diet is more effective in reducing body weight than healthy eating in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects

Abstract

Background Low-carbohydrate diets are effective for weight reduction in people without diabetes, but there is limited evidence for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Aims
To assess the impact of a low-carbohydrate diet on body weight, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), ketone and lipid levels in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.

Methods
Thirteen Type 2 diabetic subjects (on diet or metformin) and 13 non-diabetic subjects were randomly allocated to either a low-carbohydrate diet (≤ 40 g carbohydrate/day) or a healthy-eating diet following Diabetes UK nutritional recommendations and were seen monthly for 3 months. Subjects (25% male) were (mean ± sd) age 52 ± 9 years, weight 96.3 ± 16.6 kg, body mass index 35.1 kg/m2, HbA1c 6.6 ± 1.1%, total cholesterol 5.1 ± 1.1 mmol/l, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol 1.3 ± 0.4 mmol/l, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol 3.1 ± 0.9 mmol/l, triglycerides (geometric mean) 1.55 (1.10, 2.35) mmol/l and ketones range 0.0–0.2 mmol/l.

Results
Analysis was by intention to treat with last observation carried forward. Twenty-two of the participants (85%) completed the study. Weight loss was greater (6.9 vs. 2.1 kg, P = 0.003) in the low-carbohydrate group, with no difference in changes in HbA1c, ketone or lipid levels.

Conclusions
The diet was equally effective in those with and without diabetes.