When it comes to weight loss, eating fewer calories matters, according to nutritionists.
But now new research from the Annals of Internal Medicine reveals that a certain diet may help people lose more weight compared to other diets.
Lydia A. Bazzano, M.D., lead researcher of the study, says that when it comes to weight loss, you’re better off going low-carb than low-fat–an effect that not only makes you thin but makes your heart healthier as well.
“The new study shows that with proper nutritional counseling, people can lose more weight and lower their risk factors for heart disease on a low-carbohydrate diet,” says Bazzano, who works as a researcher from the Department of Epidemiology at the Tulane University School of Public Health. “This study shows if you are overweight and have cardiovascular disease risk factors and haven’t had success on other diets, certainly a low-carbohydrate diet is worth a try.”
In previous studies, researchers have found innumerable benefits for going low-carb–from having a healthier heart to even having a longer lifespan. In turn, the case for low-fat diets has continued to dwindle for the same reasons.
This study further confirms that low-carb simply is the only way to go.
So here’s what Bazzano did: Recruiting 148 obese men and women, she randomly assigned them to follow one of two diets. Not surprisingly, one of them was a low-carb diet. The other was a standard low-fat diet. At the start of the study, none of the participants had heart disease or diabetes.
Over the next year, Bazzano had them attend regular meeting about healthy eating while they continued to follow these diets–to surprising results.
While both groups lost weight, researchers found that those who followed the low-carb plan lost 8 more pounds on average. Moreover, researchers found that those who ate low-carb had lower levels of fat in their bloodstream, indicating their risk of heart disease was lower.
For Bazzano, this news could be groundbreaking.
“I thought that was a very striking finding,” says Bazzano. “[Our team] is not sure why people on the low-carbohydrate diets lost more weight and had lower risk factors for heart disease after one year.”
What This Means For You
So the evidence is clear–eat low-carb and you’ll lose more weight.
But is this diet right for you?
Dr. David Jenkins, a health expert from St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada, emphasizes that this is just one way, but not the only way, to lose weight.
“That’s just one way to do it,” says Jenkins. “I think it’s another testament to what one can do with a more plant-based diet using the right macronutrient profile.”
Overall, Jenkins emphasizes that this diet could be helpful for those provided they like to follow it–but if a low-carb diet simply doesn’t fit with your lifestyle, there are certainly other diets that can help.
“This doesn’t look to me to say ‘eat all the meats you want to lower your carbohydrates,'” says Jenkins.
Readers: Have you tried a low-carb diet before?
Sources:
Study: Low-Carb Diets Better Than Low-Fat Diets For Weight Loss – Reuters.com
Low-Carb More Effective at Reducing Weight, Risk of Heart Disease – Medscape.com
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