Eating a low-carb, meat-based diet? The study found that you may gain weight later

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ATLANTA — If you want your low-carb diet to help you lose weight and keep it off, consider the quality of the food you eat, according to new research that compared five types of low-carb diets.

The study found that people who ate an unhealthy, low-carb, meat-based diet gained weight over time compared to those who followed a healthier vegetarian diet.

“When people consume diets that focus on whole-grain carbohydrates, healthy non-tropical vegetable oils, and plant proteins, they have a better chance of preventing excess weight gain,” said lead study author Dr. Qi Sun, an assistant professor of nutrition and nutrition. Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

The study compared a generally low-carb diet to one based primarily on animal protein and fat. A second diet focuses on protein and fat from plant sources; A healthy low-carb diet focuses on eating fewer refined carbohydrates, more plant-based protein, and healthy fats such as olive oil; And finally, an unhealthy meal plan that includes unhealthy fats, more animal protein, and refined grains.

“To my knowledge, studying the effects on permanent weight loss of various low-carb variants is new,” said Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine who founded the nonprofit Real Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to “to my knowledge, studying the effects on permanent weight loss of various low-carb variants.” Evidence-based lifestyle medicine. He did not participate in the research.

All diets reduced carbohydrates to about 38% to 40% of daily calories. However, people who ate an unhealthy carbohydrate diet full of animal protein and fat gained weight over the long term compared to people who focused on eating higher amounts of fruits, whole grains, and non-starchy vegetables and eating less dairy products, red and processed meats, and sugar. – Sweetened drinks, desserts and sweets.

“Those who adopted unhealthy low-carb diets as a primary strategy gained, on average, approximately 2.3 kg, or 5.1 pounds, over four years,” said first author Bincai Liu, a research assistant in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T. H. Chan University. . College of Public Health.

“Those who adopted healthy low-carb diets as a primary strategy lost, on average, approximately 2.2 kg, or 4.9 lbs, with an average net difference between the two of 10 lbs,” she said via email.

Large, high-quality studies

The study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Network Open, examined data from more than 67,000 people who participated in three well-established longitudinal studies: the Nurses’ Health Study, conducted between 1986 and 2010, and the Nurses’ Health Study II, conducted between 1991 and 2010. 2015, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, conducted between 1986 and 2018.

“These are of course observational studies, not designed to determine cause and effect, but rather to uncover associations,” Katz said. “However, when observed associations are strong, dose-responsive, difficult to interpret, and linked to plausible mechanisms – cause and effect may sometimes be inferred.”

All participants in the three studies were healthy, were under 65 years of age, and had no pre-existing chronic diseases. Weight loss or gain was self-reported at four-year intervals.

The study noted that low-carb diets that focused on “high-quality macronutrients from healthy plant foods” were associated with less weight gain, while low-carb diets that “focused on animal-source proteins and fats or refined carbohydrates were associated with greater weight gain.” “Overweight.” The study found that the associations were more pronounced among younger, heavier, and less active people.

“The bottom line is that over a four-year period, simply adopting a ‘low-carb’ diet in general was not associated with lasting weight loss among those trying to lose weight, while adopting a high-quality, low-carb, vegetarian and/or vegan diet,” Katz said. “The low-carbohydrate diet was associated with sustained weight loss,” she said in an email.

Sun, who is also director of the Nutritional Biomarkers Laboratory at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that while the study focused on low-carb intake, the importance of food quality is key to any diet.

“It is always wise to choose a diet[that emphasizes]fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, olive oil and other vegetable oils, coffee, tea or just water, modest red wine if drinking, and low in sodium,” Sun said. “And other healthy ingredients.”

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