Low-carb? Low-fat? Study finds calories count more. (Huff Post)
Low-fat, low-carb or high-protein? The kind of diet doesn’t matter, scientists say. All that really counts is cutting calories and sticking with it, according to a federal study that followed people for two years. However, participants had trouble staying with a single approach that long and the weight loss was modest for most.
As the world grapples with rising obesity, millions have turned to popular diets like Atkins, Zone and Ornish that tout the benefits of one nutrient over another.
Some previous studies have found that low carbohydrate diets like Atkins work better than a traditional low-fat diet. But the new research found that the key to losing weight boiled down to a basic rule _ calories in, calories out.
Something so driven by common sense can’t possibly be true.
I don’t think anyone’s surprised by this. I think the bigger issues have always been: 1) is one diet easier to maintain than another, 2) is one diet better for issues such as cancer, heart disease, or diabetes than another.
My feeling has long been that each type of diet has its advantages and disadvantages and different people will have easier times maintaining one or another. The point is for a person to look at the characteristics of a diet and find what works for them to move towards healthier lifestyle, not to lose 10 lbs they’ll regain because a high school reunion is coming up. That’s why lipo is for.
You might want to take a look at the analysis of data here.