(RxWiki News) There are so many diets these days, it can be hard to pick one that's safe and effective. Researchers have come across news that will change the way you think about dieting.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins tell people not to worry if the proportion of fat is higher in their diet than the carbohydrates because the fat will not immediately harm their arteries. What people should focus on is achieving and maintaining a healthy weight without excessive amount of body fat rather than the types of diets.
"Low-carbohydrate, higher-fat diets are safe for losing weight."
Lead investigator, Kerry Stewart, Ed.D, professor of medicine and director of clinical and research exercise physiology, studied 46 men and women, age 30 to 65, weighing around 218 pounds during a six month weight loss program. The weight loss program involved moderate aerobic exercise and lifting weights, and a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet.
The researchers compared the low carbohydrate group to an equal number of people that were randomly assigned to a low-fat group.
The participants in the low carbohydrate group lost on average 10 pounds in 45 days, and showed no harmful vascular changes. The low-fat group lost the same amount, but in 70 days.
Stewart said this study should get rid of some of the concerns that people have about low-carb diets and assure people that both diets, low-carb or low-fat, are effective weight loss diets.
Stewart believes that low-fat diets may contribute to the obesity epidemic in America because people are focusing only on fat content and consuming more carbohydrates then necessary.
There should be more focus on reaching and maintaining a healthy weight and exercising.
