By: Diana Barnes-Brown for Fibroids1While many who have struggled with their weight swear by low-carb, high-fat and protein diets such as the Atkins diet and some studies have shown that these diets are highly effective for promoting weight loss, a recent study has unseated the credibility of these earlier findings by proving the opposite.
Dr. Barbara V. Howard, Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, and colleagues conducted a seven-year study of nearly 49,000 U.S. women, and found that women who reduced calorie intake by cutting back on fat ultimately achieved more weight loss than those who cut back on carbs.
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Tips for going low-fat:
Use fats and oils sparingly.
Try a cooking spray rather than relying on oil or butter.
Use the Nutrition Facts Label to help you choose foods lower in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Pay attention to the servings per package number on the foods you buy – an entire package may contain multiple servings.
Eat plenty of grain products, fruits and vegetables.
Choose low-fat milk products, lean meats, fish, poultry, beans, and peas to get essential nutrients without substantially increasing calorie and saturated fat intakes. |
The researchers split the group into two sub-groups. Forty percent (about 19,500) received a dietary intervention counseling them to cut back on fat and increase fruit, vegetable, and grain consumption, and the other 60 percent (about 29,500) acted as a control group, and received only general diet-related education materials. The women in the intervention group lost weight during the first year of the study, and over the 7.5 year follow-up period managed to maintain lower body weights than the women in the control group. Women in both groups who had limited their fat intake, whether due to the intervention or for other reasons, did better than those who had not. Increases in fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as consumption of grain and fiber, were correlated with increased weight loss.
“Weight loss… was greatest among women who had the greatest decrease in percentage of energy from fat,” wrote the authors, adding that “women who increased percentage of energy from fat during the study showed weight increases.”
Especially because of the long-term nature of the study and the large number of people who participated, the results point to Atkins and similar diets being a bad choice, at least for post-menopausal woman.
“The intervention aimed to change diet patterns but did not encourage weight loss or caloric reduction,” noted the authors. “The trial, therefore, provided a unique opportunity to examine the long-term effects of an ad libitum reduced-fat dietary pattern on body weight.” The authors also stated that additional long-term studies to determine the best nutrient levels would be a key component in comparing the health effects of high- versus low-fat diets.
