WCIR: Pounds May Creep Back with Low-fat, Low-Carb Diets

[Guest guest]

Diets that cut out fats or carbohydrates may not lead to sustained weight

reduction, according to a meta-analysis.

" In addition to energy restriction, some diets emphasize manipulation of

macronutrient composition to promote weight loss, " said Mona Boaz, PhD, of

E. Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel, and colleagues at the World

Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease

meeting. " Such diets may be broadly classified into low-fat and

low-carbohydrate diets. "

But the manipulation of macronutrient composition did not seem to have

significant effects on weight loss in the long run, Boaz and colleagues

reported. " We ran a random effects model and we saw nothing, " Boaz

told *MedPage

Today*. " In the short term, you usually see a benefit with [macronutrient

composition manipulation], but in the long run, there's no difference. "

Boaz added that both low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets were associated

with poor adherence and high attrition rates.

Worldwide, about 1.5 billion people are estimated to be overweight,

according to the World Health Organization. Dietary interventions for

weight loss are typically the first-line therapy against obesity.

However, they often have poor long-term performance, Boaz and colleagues

claimed.

To determine whether either of these diets had any advantages in terms of

sustained weight loss, Boaz and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of

several randomized, clinical trials in healthy adults, which compared

low-carbohydrate diets to low-fat diets. The studies had to be published in

2009 or later.

They found four studies, totaling 1,878 patients. Of that total, 941 were

on the low-carbohydrate diet and 937 were on a low-fat diet.

Two of the studies targeted weight loss as the primary endpoint, and two

looked at maintenance of weight loss using meal replacement products.

Boaz said the overall compliance was poor and the attrition rate was high

across studies.

Based on a random effects model, she and her colleagues said they could not

identify any significant advantage to either diet strategy (standardized

difference in means -0.07, 95% CI -0.3 to 0.4, *P*=0.7).

Boaz said the possible explanations included the between-group difference

in macronutrient content, which was much smaller than planned. Also, poor

compliance and high attrition rates existed despite the fact that patients

in the studies were motivated and the follow up was structured and

supervised.

Her group concluded that novel weight loss strategies need to be

investigated. Future studies on the diets themselves are also needed, Boaz

added. She said the timing of macronutrient may have an effect on diet

outcomes, and that is currently under investigation.

LINK<http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/WCIR/29471?utm_content= & utm_med\

ium=email & utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines & utm_source=WC & eun=g134896d0r & userid=134896\

& email=nro1comcast (DOT) net & mu_id=>

*Primary source: *World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and

Cardiovascular Disease

Source reference:

Boaz M, et al " Macronutrient composition in weight loss diets -- a

meta-analysis " *WCIR* 2011.

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://goog_1331050751>

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