Results: Sixty participants (82%) in the low-fat group and 59 (79%) in the low-carbohydrate group completed the intervention. At 12 months, participants on the low-carbohydrate diet had greater decreases in weight (mean difference in change, "3.5 kg [95% CI, "5.6 to "1.4 kg]; P # 0.002), fat mass (mean difference in change, "1.5% [CI, "2.6% to "0.4%]; P # 0.011), ratio of total–high-density lip...

Low-carbohydrate diets have become increasingly popular in both media and clinical research settings. Although they may improve some metabolic markers, their effects on arterial function remain unclear. Endothelial dysfunction is the well-established response to cardiovascular risk factors and a pivotal feature that precedes atherosclerotic diseases. It has been demonstrated that a high carbohy...

OBJECTIVE We evaluated the effects of mixed meals differing in glycemic index (GI) and carbohydrate content on postprandial serum glucose and insulin response, hunger, and satiety over the course of a 12-h day. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this randomized crossover trial, 26 overweight or obese adults received four diets in random order (high GI, high carbohydrate [HGI-HC]; high GI, low car...

BACKGROUND: Does dietary fat play a central role in weight gain and development of obesity? Do low-fat diets have adverse effects on blood lipids? OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To answer these questions we have reviewed the evidence linking the dietary fat content to energy balance and obesity, and examined the efficacy and safety of ad libitum low fat, high carbohydrate=protein diets in the prevention...

R ecent research has demonstrated the value of carbohydrate-restricted diets for overweight/obese individuals with certain risk factor profiles. In addition to reducing body weight and abdominal adiposity, carbohydrate-restricted diets typically improve serum triacylglycerol (TAG) and HDL cholesterol concentrations, all of which are features associated with the metabolic syndrome. The macronutr...

Although low-fat high-carbohydrate diets are recommended for patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in an effort to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), the results of short-term studies have shown that these diets can lead to changes in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism associated with an increased risk of CAD. This study has extended these earlier observati...

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic and will be followed by a worldwide epidemic of diabetes. While diet, lifestyle, and exercise are the cornerstones of current approaches to treat obesity, they have been ineffective in stemming the current epidemic. In this issue of THE JOURNAL, the article by Bravata et al systematically reviews and synthesizes the literature on the use of low-carbohydrate diets...

Diabetes mellitus is very common in elderly Chinese individuals. Although nutritional intervention can provide a balanced diet, the sustaining effect on at-home dietary behavior and long-term plasma glucose control is not clear. Consequently, we conducted a long-term survey following one month of experiential nutritional intervention combined with health education. Based on the Dietary Guidelin...

I just read with great interest the well-written paper by Buchholz and Schoeller that discusses thermodynamics and weight-loss diets (1). However, the authors ignored the fact that the energy utilization of different diets depends on the biochemical pathways taken (2). For example, a low-carbohydrate diet dramatically increases gluconeogenesis relative to a high-carbohydrate diet. Obviously, gl...