Our diets play an essential role in our metabolism and body composition. BBC News claimed that low-fat diets were better than cutting carbs for weight loss; however, the results collected were quite the opposite. A recent study from the National Institute of Health used an extreme diet, low-fat or low-carb, for 19 obese men and women over six days for several weeks. The results showed that the low-fat diet led to greater fat loss but not weight loss while the low-carb diet led to greater weight loss but not fat loss. Their physical activity was controlled to 60 minutes of treadmill walking per day. The results yielded evidence that the low-carb diet can affect metabolism much more than a low-fat diet and leads to more fat and energy burning (1).
However, there are some diets, like the Mediterranean diet, that has a high intake of fat and has been shown to reduce body weight over time (2). The diet suggests individuals stick with it for at least six months. The main components of the diet include plant-based foods, high dairy intake, and high consumption of fatty foods like avocados and olives (3). Although the results of the Mediterranean diet show a reduction in body weight, this reduction increased by 10% in combination with exercise (2).
A Professor of Diet and Population Health at the University of Oxford, Dr. Susan Jebb, stated, "The real challenge for science is not the nutritional composition of the diet, but the behavioral strategies to promote adherence (1). It is a major challenge for people to stick with any diet outside of a lab setting where all the meals and exercise are controlled.
A study of weight loss among obese Americans observed numerous factors in weight loss, including diet and exercise. The results showed the largest decrease in body weight from the group that ate less fat and exercised more frequently in combination (4).
So the take-home message for weight loss is clear: eat less, exercise more. A low-carb diet will increase metabolism and yield a greater weight loss, while a low-fat diet will decrease body fat, but either diet in combination with exercise, will lead to weight loss!
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/behindtheheadlines/news/2015-08-14-low-fat-diet-better-than-low-carb-diet-for-getting-rid-of-body-fat/
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pubmed/20973675
3. http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/the-mediterranean-diet
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22516488
This is very interesting. It seems like there's a new diet recommendation every day, and the majority of which are backed by minimal scientific reasoning or studies. Whether it be the Atkins diet, low carb, paleo, keto, or whatever else, it always seems as if 1 diet plan is promoted as the best for weight and fat loss and it's refreshing to see a study which separates the two diets for their independent benefits. I'm curious as to how the low-fat diet people managed to lose fat without losing weight and whether they gained more muscle or glycogen stores or whatever else it may be. I think it would also be interesting to see if there are other further health affects of low carb vs. low fat diets in terms of lowering blood pressure in a person with hypertension or reducing plaque build up in the coronary arteries of a person with atherosclerosis. Determining the effects of each specific diet may help to treat specific obesity related diseases.
ReplyDeleteThis low-fat vs. low-carb argument is really interesting to me as I am doing my project on insulin insensitivity in type I diabetics and diet seems to play a considerable role. Some of the literature has suggested that because Dr.s always tell patients to eat low carb, they naturally eat higher fatty foods (diabetics don’t usually have to take much insulin for meats and cheeses), but this switch to higher fatty foods along with weight gain caused by just using insulin, can result in insulin insensitivity in type I’s. I am curious to know if non-diabetic people who are on low-carb, high –fat diets for extended amounts of time are more likely over time to develop type II diabetes (since insulin insensitivity is the hallmark of type II)compared to people who are on low-fat, higher carb diets? I haven’t seen any literature to directly address this question, but it would be interesting to know the long term effects of following one of these diets.
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