Losing weight on 6000 cals a day? Pubmed study: a calorie is NOT a calorie

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Kasper, H., Thiel, H., Ehl, M., " Response of Body Weight to a Low

Carbohydrate, High Fat Diet in

Normal and Obese Subjects, " The American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition, 26, 1973, pages 197-204.

Summary:

The object of this study was to analyze the relationship between

carbohydrate and fat as it

pertains to regulation of body weight. Five volunteers were fed a

formula diet comprised of 168

grams of carbohydrate, 64 grams of protein and 39 grams of fat for 45

days. Every five days, the

amount of fat in the diet was increased via ingestion of either corn

oil or olive oil. Researchers

noted that the body could use up to 600 grams of fat daily, and this

utilization was not

compromised in any form, meaning individuals experienced increases in

thermogenisis. At daily

intakes of 300 to 400 grams of fat, subjects reported feeling warm all

over and had an increased

tendency to sweat. The individuals consuming the olive oil experienced

an average weight gain of

20 pounds. ~~~~Individuals consuming corn oil, although ingesting

approximately 6,000 calories per

day, experienced a decrease in weight.~~~ Researchers postulated that

this discrepancy was due to the

corn oil containing more of a particular essential fatty acid

(linoleic acid). Based on the

results obtained from this pilot study, the researchers placed 25

obese subjects on one of five

diets varying in caloric value and ranging from

low-fat/high-carbohydrate to

high-fat/low-carbohydrate. All diets were supplemented with either

corn oil or olive oil.

Individuals consuming a low-fat, 855-calorie diet lost an average of

1.1 pounds daily while

individuals consuming a low-fat, 1,006-calorie diet lost an average of

0.57 pounds daily. By

comparison, the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet group eating 1,707

calories lost 0.66 pounds daily

while those eating 2,150 calories lost 0.70 pounds daily, regardless

of whether they ate corn oil

or olive oil. Eating less did not significantly alter weight loss in

the low-carbohydrate groups.

Researchers believed that this was a result of an increased energy

output in the higher calorie

group released by the body in the form of heat. Researchers also

concluded that the weight loss

was not water loss due to the length of the study and the total amount

of weight loss achieved.

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