WEDNESDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets appear to be safe, effective alternatives to low-fat diets for weight loss, and offer some metabolic benefits, according to research published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Iris Shai, R.D., Ph.D., of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beer-Sheva, Israel, and colleagues analyzed data from 322 obese individuals who were randomized to a low-fat diet based on American Heart Association guidelines, a Mediterranean-type diet, or a low-carbohydrate diet based on the Atkins diet. The trial lasted two years.
At 24 months, adherence to the diets was 90.4 percent in the low-fat group, 85.3 percent in the Mediterranean-diet group and 78 percent in the low-carbohydrate diet group, the researchers report. Among those who completed the intervention, mean weight losses were 3.3, 4.6 and 5.5 kilograms in the low-fat, Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate groups, respectively. The low-carbohydrate group showed the greatest improvement in ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, with a relative decrease of 20 percent, compared with a 12 percent decrease in the low-fat group, the report indicates.
"We observed two phases of weight change: initial weight loss and weight maintenance. The maximum weight reduction was achieved during the first six months; this period was followed by the maintenance phase of partial rebound and a plateau. Among all diet groups, weight loss was greater for those who completed the 24-month study than for those who did not. Even moderate weight loss has health benefits, and our findings suggest benefits of behavioral approaches that yield weight losses similar to those obtained with pharmacotherapy," the authors write.
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