In the midst of the low-carb
craze, a new study suggests that by eating lots of carbohydrates
and little fat, it is possible to lose weight without actually
cutting calories — and without exercising, either.
The study was small,
consisting of just 34 overweight adults who either ate the recommended
diet for three months; ate the recommended diet and exercised
regularly; or ate pretty much what they usually eat.
All meals were prepared
for participants, who were instructed to eat as much as they
wanted. They also were told to return any uneaten food, which
the researchers said enabled them to calculate calorie intake.
Many doctors dispute
whether people can lose weight without reducing their food intake,
and at least one questioned the study's accuracy.
But the diet is
more compatible with conventional notions of healthful eating
than the fatty, low-carbohydrate Atkins and South Beach diets.
Participants on
the recommended diet lost about 7 pounds without cutting calories
and without exercise, and almost 11 pounds with 45 minutes of
stationary bike-riding four times weekly. The control group
lost no weight.
The findings appear
in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
Gary Foster, clinical
director of the University of Pennsylvania's Weight and Eating
Disorders Program, said he suspects participants who lost weight
ate less than what was reported. He said that while he recommends
a low-fat, high carb diet to patients, without calorie reduction
it would be "a public health disaster."
"The whole idea
that you could lose weight without reducing energy intake flies
in the face of 100 years of data," Foster said.
Lead author William
Evans of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences stood
by his findings.
"Calories in minus
calories out does not always determine the amount of weight
loss," Evans said. "This is because we metabolize fats and carbohydrates
very differently."
American Dietetic
Association spokeswoman Cindy Moore agreed and said with low-carb
diets hogging the spotlight, "it may be a reminder that we can
lose weight in a variety of different ways."
Foods on the successful
diets included high-fiber cereal, vegetarian chili, whole-wheat
spaghetti, many fruits and vegetables, and skim milk. Daily
calories totaled about 2,400, similar to participants' usual
consumption.
The control group
also received prepared meals with similar calories, but the
foods included sausage, scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese,
French fries, whole milk and fewer fruits and vegetables.
The successful diet
was not tested against Atkins and other low-carb regimens, which
contain more fat and fewer carbs than the control group diet.
___
On the Web:
Archives of Internal
Medicine: http://www.archinternmed.com
Reference
Source 102
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