Low Carb Diets – Good Or Bad

The fad of diets come and go like the tides in the ocean and he low carbohydrate (aka Atkins Diet) continue to resurface in different forms. For many these diets represent a roller coaster of weight loss followed by similar weight gain but a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine Weight and Metabolic Outcomes After 2 Years on a Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diet (PDF version here) demonstrated some surprising findings……

Both groups lost about 7% of their weight but what was surprising was the Low Carbohydrate diet had better cholesterol levels in their blood including an increase in the HDL (good cholesterol) all representative of factors that reduce heart risks.

Don’t celebrate too much yet though. Both groups had very intensive monitoring and support and this was probably as important if not more important to the success of the weight loss program. The results do seem to suggest a counter intuitive improvement in cholesterol levels despite a low carbohydrate diet that contained more fats.

Key learning point here – focus and support to improve compliance and adherence to weight loss and fitness programs is successful in achieving and maintaining weight loss