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Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet

This study is getting quite a bit of attention in the media and on blogs

ABSTRACT

Background Trials comparing the effectiveness and safety of weight-loss diets are frequently limited by short follow-up times and high dropout rates.

Methods In this 2-year trial, we randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters], 31; male sex, 86%) to one of three diets: low-fat, restricted-calorie; Mediterranean, restricted-calorie; or low-carbohydrate, non–restricted-calorie.

Results The rate of adherence to a study diet was 95.4% at 1 year and 84.6% at 2 years. The Mediterranean-diet group consumed the largest amounts of dietary fiber and had the highest ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat (P<0.05 p="0.01)." style="font-weight: bold;">Conclusions Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
It's interesting that very few of the news reports or blogs mention that this was not an Atkins-style low carb diet. It's important to note that they used a primarily vegetarian low-carb diet and that it was in a partially controlled setting (employees eating at a cafeteria). But most leave those details out to further their agenda.
July 17, 2008 at 2:03 PM
Billy Oblivion said…
Anonymous:

Or out of ignorance.

Do not blame malice when incomptence...
July 18, 2008 at 1:36 PM
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