Ketogenic diet may be suitable for children.

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AlabasterVerve
AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
in Food and Nutrition
The Diet Doctor linked to another study that showed a low carb diet proved to be more successful than a low calorie diet -- this time it was for children. Inflammatory blog post:

A Low Carb Diet Superior for Overweight Children Once Again

Do you want to lose weight? Study after study shows that if you do, you should avoid sugar and starch. This is also true for children and youth. A new study showed that children (on average 13 years old) lost more weight on a strict low carbohydrate diet, despite eating until satisfied!

Children who instead received low fat and low calorie dietary advice had more difficulty losing weight, despite going hungry. Nor did their health markers improve in comparison.

At least two studies have previously demonstrated better weight for overweight children and youth who were given advice on a strict low carbohydrate diet u]1 2[/u. And altogether there are now at least 18 studies of highest standard (RCT) clearly demonstrating a better weight on a low carbohydrate diet compared to “eat less and run more”. The latter advice has to my knowledge never won in any comparative study. Nor has anybody been able to show me such a study.

This means 18-0 in favor of a low carbohydrate diet.

A low carbohydrate diet is dieting for smart people who enjoy life (and who exercise for the purpose of being fit and feeling well). Eating pasta daily, counting calories and having to exercise like an elite athlete to get slim is a good option for masochists.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/a-low-carb-diet-superior-for-overweight-children-once-again#comments
(follow the link to the original blog post if you're interested in the underlined hyperlinks)

The actual study is behind a paywall but the summary states the ketogenic diet was more effective than a low calorie diet in terms of weight loss and health markers.

Results: Both groups significantly reduced their weight, fat mass, waist circumference, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR (p=0.009 for ketogenic and p=0.014 for hypocaloric), but the differences were greater in the ketogenic group. Both groups increased WBISI significantly, but only the ketogenic group increased HMW adiponectin significantly (p=0.025).

Conclusions: The ketogenic diet revealed more pronounced improvements in weight loss and metabolic parameters than the hypocaloric diet and may be a feasible and safe alternative for children’s weight loss.

http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jpem.2012.25.issue-7-8/jpem-2012-0131/jpem-2012-0131.xml
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Replies

  • llstacy
    llstacy Posts: 91 Member
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    This kind of stuff encourages me to stick with my low carb diet when most of the people around me are saying it's just a fad...it's not healthy...don't deprive myself...it's unsustainable...bla bla bla. Thanks for posting this AV!
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    Combo of vegan and primal or gtfo.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Should be titled, diet doctor herps again. Do you happen to know if protein was held constant and how they tracked for diet and exercise? Seeing it was for 6 months, it most likely used some sort of recall, which is awesomely accurate. Also how was BF measured? BIA?
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    A low carbohydrate diet is dieting for smart people who enjoy life (and who exercise for the purpose of being fit and feeling well). Eating pasta daily, counting calories and having to exercise like an elite athlete to get slim is a good option for masochists.

    This seems to miss the middle ground by just a tad.
  • iAMsmiling
    iAMsmiling Posts: 2,394 Member
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    A low carbohydrate diet is dieting for smart people who enjoy life (and who exercise for the purpose of being fit and feeling well). Eating pasta daily, counting calories and having to exercise like an elite athlete to get slim is a good option for masochists.

    This seems to miss the middle ground by just a tad.

    admiral-ackbar-its-a-trap-finger-trap.jpg
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
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    I guess heart disease isn't a thing in Sweden
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
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    Tell that to Rachel Huskey's parents...
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    I guess heart disease isn't a thing in Sweden
    care to write us a piece on the affects of low carb diets on heart disease rates using peer reviewed sources?
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
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    I guess heart disease isn't a thing in Sweden
    care to write us a piece on the affects of low carb diets on heart disease rates using peer reviewed sources?

    No need, over here in reality many have already written these studies. Knowing you won't actually invest anytime in this I will leave you with just the Mayo clinic study

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    I guess heart disease isn't a thing in Sweden
    care to write us a piece on the affects of low carb diets on heart disease rates using peer reviewed sources?

    No need, over here in reality many have already written these studies. Knowing you won't actually invest anytime in this I will leave you with just the Mayo clinic study

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196

    last tme I checked the literature the consesus seemed to be there was no consensus...quick search confirms that...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,683 Member
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    Overweight children are overweight because of over consumption. Fricken parents just need to take note.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    Overweight children are overweight because of over consumption. Fricken parents just need to take note.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    I'm amazed that you remember to copy and paste your signature to every single post you make. It's obnoxious but I'm sure that kind of dedication and stick-to-it-ive-ness has served you well in life. Plus it makes it easy to skip over your posts when I've reached my limit for the day.
  • robot_potato
    robot_potato Posts: 1,535 Member
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    Hmmm. My kids eat plenty of carbs, but they love other foods too. They also play outside, rather than staring at a screen all day, mindlessly stuffing junk into their gobs. Not to say they don't ever watch tv or play video games, they do that as well. Moderation mght also be suitable for kids. Better yet, people in general.
  • DrLabRat
    DrLabRat Posts: 20
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    I'd be concerned about the neurological effects of a ketogenic diet in children. I'm aware that ketogenic diets are used to manage epilepsy in children, but I don't think it is medically advisable to place just any-old-child on a ketogenic diet. Children are learning, growing, developing... and while they (and adults, for that matter) are evolutionarily programmed to survive all sorts of stressful situations... we just don't know enough about the human brain to be certain that chronic, long-term deprivation of carbs is safe for children. Adults seem to do okay with it, but kids aren't just little adults.

    My suggestion: Think twice before pacing your child into ketosis. Ketosis IS a 'stress response' and chronic ketosis could be harmful to children (or it might not be... we just don't know for sure! Do you want your child to be the guinea pig?)
  • MaximizedGains
    MaximizedGains Posts: 12
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    A ketogenic diet is never a good idea, and forcing it on children is absurd.
  • MaximizedGains
    MaximizedGains Posts: 12
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    Combo of vegan and primal or gtfo.

    I'm sorry, what? Are you mentally disabled? This is by far the worst nutrition advice I've ever heard. Ever.
  • DrLabRat
    DrLabRat Posts: 20
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    A ketogenic diet is never a good idea, and forcing it on children is absurd.

    "Never" is a bit too strong a word. There ARE medical situations when ketogenic is beneficial. As mentioned, it IS a valid strategy for managing epilepsy, one that could be used after careful consideration and under supervision of a medical specialist. There is also data supporting the use of ketogenic diets in Alzheimer's disease.
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
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    I guess heart disease isn't a thing in Sweden
    care to write us a piece on the affects of low carb diets on heart disease rates using peer reviewed sources?

    No need, over here in reality many have already written these studies. Knowing you won't actually invest anytime in this I will leave you with just the Mayo clinic study

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-healthy-diet/NU00196

    This is just a Mayo web page without references. The poster had requested a peer reviewed study.
  • DrLabRat
    DrLabRat Posts: 20
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    This is just a Mayo web page without references. The poster had requested a peer reviewed study.

    Scroll all the way down to the bottom. See that thing that says "references"? Click the + sign by the word and you will see that the page IS referenced.

    The Mayo Clinic does a great job of presenting 'standard of care' type info. Right now, most doctors and researchers still believe that diets high in saturated fat are linked to heart disease. There is, of course, evidence challenging this hypothesis, but for now, that's still the favored dogma.
  • Craigamears
    Craigamears Posts: 65 Member
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    This is just a Mayo web page without references. The poster had requested a peer reviewed study.

    Scroll all the way down to the bottom. See that thing that says "references"? Click the + sign by the word and you will see that the page IS referenced.

    The Mayo Clinic does a great job of presenting 'standard of care' type info. Right now, most doctors and researchers still believe that diets high in saturated fat are linked to heart disease. There is, of course, evidence challenging this hypothesis, but for now, that's still the favored dogma.

    Thanks Doc for pointing out the reference links. I am used to reading sites that have them actually listed like in a journal. I did go on to look at the references and they are only consumer oriented things like the CDC brochure that tells us to eat our fruits and vegetables and unfortunately it has not studies in it.

    They are doing good work on Alzheimer's and they are the designated Brain Center for Florida. So perhaps in their true research output meant for scientific consumption they may have some good stuff on the effects of ketones on neuron pathology.

    Thanks for your help.

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